anagement 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

RECEIVED    BY    EXCHANGE 

Class 


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LECTURES  DELIVERED  BEFORE 
THE  STUDENTS  OF 


Purdue  University 


IN 


RAILWAY  ENGINEERING  AND 
ALLIED  SUBJECTS. 

1897-98. 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


LAFAYETTE,  INDIANA, 
MARCH,  i8q8. 


PREFACE. 


American  railways  are  entering  upon  a  period 
of  development  the  conditions  of  which  are  more 
exacting  than  any  they  have  hitherto  experienced. 
With  an  enormous  expansion  in  the  volume  of 
traffic,  with  a  demand  for  increased  speed  and  the 
consequent  necessity  for  attention  to  the  ques- 
tion of  safety,  and  with  an  ever-increasing  com- 
petition, there  is  need  for  the  highest  possible 
efficiency  in  every  department  of  railway  service, 
and,  consequently,  a  demand  for  men  who  are 
thoroughly  trained  for  the  service  they  are  ex- 
pected to  render.  In  the  future  many  of  these 
men  will  come  from  the  technical  schools,  and  for 
this  reason  it  seems  desirable  that  these  schools 
arrange  courses  which  shall  have  special  refer- 
ence to  the  requirements  of  such  service. 

Purdue  University  has  for  several  years  offered 
work  covering  a  considerable  variety  of  railway 


1398. 15 


IV 

subjects,  but  recently,  to  provide  more  perfectly 
for  the  railway  interests,  the  plan  of  work  hitherto 
existing  has  been  revised,  new  subjects  have  been 
added,  and  as  a  logical  outgrowth  of  this  process 
of  extension  and  organization,  a  department  of 
railway  engineering  and  management  has  been 
formed. 

The  work  of  the  new  department  is  sustained 
by  all  of  those  instructors  who  have  hitherto  been 
identified  with  the  railway  subjects  given  at  Pur- 
due, and  by  others  who  have  reinforced  the  old 
organization. 

But  it  was  realized  at  the  outset  that  the  school 
could  not  attain  the  highest  success  unless  we 
could  bring  to  our  aid  the  services  of  those  who 
are  in  daily  contact  with  the  actual  problems  aris- 
ing in  the  practical  operation  of  the  railways. 

Some  of  the  most  prominent  railway  men  in 
the  country  were  appealed  to,  and  they  readily 
agreed  to  lend  their  aid  to  the  enterprise.  As  a 
result  we  were  enabled  to  supplement  the  work 
of  the  regular  corps  of  professors  by  a  series  of 
lectures  delivered  by  men  high  in  their  profes- 


sion,  representing  different  departments  in  the 
organization  of  railways,  and  by  others  versed  in 
railway  law.  The  lectures  were  found  to  be  of 
such  great  value  that  it  was  deemed  best  to  pre- 
serve them  in  permanent  form  ;  hence  this  vol- 
ume. 


CONTENTS. 

Page 

I.    "  Problems  in  the  Management  of  a  Railway 

System," i 

J.  T.  BROOKS.  Second  Vice-Presldent  Penn.  Lines 
West  of  Pittsburg. 

II.    "Railways:  Their  Past,  Present  and  Future,"    61 

MELVILLE  E.  INGALLS,   President  of  the  Big  Four 
System,  Cincinnati. 

III.  "  The  Mutual  Obligations  of  Railroad  Corpor- 

ations and  the  People," 85 

JOHN   W.  NOBLE,  Ex -Secretary  of   Interior,   St. 
Louis,  Mo. 

IV.  "  Relation  of  Railways  to  the  State," 155 

ADDISON  C.  HARRIS,  Attorney  at  Law,  Indianapolis. 

V.    "  Railroads  and  the  People," 177 

ADDISON  C.  HARRIS. 

VI.    "  Railroads  and  Their  Servants," 199 

ADDISON  C.  HARRIS. 

VII.    "Reminiscences  of  a  Locomotive  Engineer" 

(omitted) 225 

ANGUS  SINCLAIR,  Editor  Locomotive  Engineering, 
New  York  City. 


VIII 

Page 

VIII.    "  Business  Problems  of  the  Motive  Power  De- 
partment,"    227 

ROBERT  QUAYLE,  Supt,  Motive  Power  and  Machin- 
ery, C.  &  N.  W.  R'y  Co.,  Chicago. 

IX.    "Experiences  in  the   Motive  Power  Depart- 
ments of  Railways"  (omitted) 265 

GODFREY  W.  RHODES,  Supt.  Motive  Power  and 
Machinery,  C.  B.  &  Q.  R'y  Co.,  Aurora,  III. 

X.    "Signaling," 267 

FREDERIC  A.  DELANO,  Supt.  Freight  Terminals, 
C.  B.  &  Q.  R'y  Co.,  Chicago. 

XI.    "  Car  Designing  and  Construction," 3°3 

ARTHUR  M.  WAITT,  General  Master  Car  Builder, 
L.  S.  &  M.  S.  R'y  Co.,  Cleveland. 


I. 


PROBLEMS  IN  THE  MANAGEMENT 
OF  A  RAILWAY  SYSTEM. 


JOHN  T.  BROOKS. 


YOU  wish  to  know  something  of  the  prac- 
tical management  of  railways.  I  might 
ask,  How  is  a  university  or  a  shop  man- 
aged ?  Universities  and  shops  are  not  all  man 
aged  alike,  neither  are  all  railways.  The  man- 
agement of  railways,  as  of  shops  and  universities, 
depends  on  the  amount  of  work  they  have  to  do 
and  the  kind  of  men  who  manage  them.  'A  sys- 
tem which  controls  large  mileage  and  a  large  vol- 
ume of  traffic  naturally  requires  more  diversified 
and  thorough  organization  than  one  whose  mileage 
and  traffic  are  small.  When  the  business  of  a 
railway  is  not  too  large,  an  intelligent,  energetic 


President,  aided  by  proper  assistants,  may  direct 
all  its  affairs ;  but  there  are  few  railways  whose 
affairs  can  be  so  managed.  Generally  speaking, 
the  railway  of  to-day  is  a  combination  of  several 
lines  ;  its  traffic  is  large  ;  its  business  is  closely 
blended  with  that  of  other  lines ;  its  income  is 
affected  by  the  operation  of  rival  lines.  Hence 
arises  the  necessity  of  organization  ;  a  classifica- 
tion of  duties,  and  a  general  supervision  of  policy 
by  a  principal  executive  officer,  details  being  man- 
aged by  associates,  each  responsible  for  the  opera- 
tion of  his  own  department. 

The  success  of  railway  administration  depends 
on  two  principal  factors :  wise  policy,  careful  at- 
tention to  details.  Herein  is  apparent  the  neces- 
sity of  wise  men  in  control.  The  measure  of  their 
wisdom  is  the  measure  of  success  of  the  railway. 

The  railway  system  of  the  United  States  is  the 
product  of  evolution. 

First,  in  the  mode  of  creation.  Originally  rail- 
way companies  were  created  by  special  charter. 
This  means  that  a  State  Legislature  enacts  a  law 
declaring  that  the  persons  therein  named,  their 


3 

successors  and  assigns,  are  made  a  corporation, 
with  power  to  build,  operate  and  maintain  a  rail- 
way between  designated  points ;  other  specific 
powers  being  granted,  such  as  the  applicants  for 
the  charter  wish  to  have,  or  as  the  law-making 
power  is  willing  to  grant.  Two  evils  resulted 
from  this  mode  of  creating  a  railway  corporation  ; 
first,  applicants  for  a  charter  wished  to  obtain 
special  and  valuable  privileges,  for  which  in  many 
cases,  they  were  willing  to  pay  money.  Hence 
resulted  bribery  of  law-makers  and  sacrifice  of 
public  interests.  Next,  special  laws  creating  rail- 
way companies  were  necessarily  of  great  length  ; 
they  conferred  generally  the  same  powers  and 
privileges ;  as  applications  for  charters  became 
numerous,  and  were  generally  granted,  the  statute 
books  became  swollen  to  large  size  and  many  vol- 
umes. Thereupon  constitutions  were  adopted  in 
most  States  requiring  all  corporations  to  be  created 
under  general  laws,  and  forbidding  special  powers 
to  be  given  to  any.  Thus  a  system  of  laws  re- 
lating to  railways  has  been  developed  in  nearly 
every  State,  prescribing  in  general  terms  the 

3 


4 

mode  in  which  all  companies  must  be  created, 
and  the  powers  which  all  may  enjoy.  A  corpo- 
ration is  spoken  of  as  a  creature  of  law ;  also  as 
a  legal  entity.  These  terms  are  sometimes  con- 
fusing. A  corporation  is  a  number  of  persons 
associated  together  for  some  purpose  recognized 
by  law,  and  permitted  by  law  to  do  certain  things 
on  certain  conditions.  The  privileges  granted  to 
persons  thus  associated,  aside  from  the  special 
object  of  their  association,  are  chiefly  these: 
They  may  transact  business  under  one  name, 
selected  by  themselves ;  they  may  sue  and  be 
sued  in  that  name,  and  they  and  their  successors 
and  assigns  may  continue  to  do  business  for  a  long 
period  or  forever.  The  death  of  one  member 
does  not,  as  in  case  of  a  partnership,  terminate 
the  corporation.  The  powers  and  privileges  en- 
joyed by  railway  companies  are  called  franchises. 
This  word  is  a  mystery  to  many  people.  A  fran- 
chise is  merely  a  right,  conferred  by  law,  to  do  or 
have  some  particular  thing. 

The  second  step  in  the  evolution  of  the  railway 
system,  consists  in  consolidation  and  the  acquisi- 


5 

tion  of  additional  lines.  I  have  said  that  origi- 
nally a  railway  company  is  created  to  build  and 
operate  a  railway  between  designated  points,  as 
between  "A"  and  "B."  So  great  has  been  the 
multiplication  of  railways  in  modern  times,  so 
fierce  has  been  the  rivalry  between  them,  so  great 
has  been  the  necessity  of  giving  the  public  the 
best  service  at  the  lowest  possible  cost,  that  laws 
have  been  enacted  from  time  to  time,  permitting 
one  railway  company  to  lease,  operate  or  buy  ad- 
ditional railways ;  also  permitting  two  or  more 
railway  companies  to  consolidate  and  become  a 
single  company.  There  can  be  no  question  that 
the  policy  which  permits  consolidation  of  railway 
companies  is  a  wise  one.  Passengers  and  freight 
can  be  carried  long  distances  without  change  of 
cars,  in  quicker  time,  and  at  less  cost ;  yet  many 
people  fear  large  railway  companies,  and  believe 
newspapers  and  stump  speakers,  who  say  that 
these  large  companies  are  a  menace  to  the  people. 
There  is  no  ground  whatever  for  this  fear. 

A  large  railway  company  has  no  other  or  greater 
powers  than  a  small  one.     A  large  company  does 

5 


more  business  than  a  small  company,  but  both  do 
the  same  kind  of  business,  in  the  same  way. 
You  can  bring  a  large  company  into  court,  before 
a  Justice  of  the  Peace  or  an  Alderman,  as  easily 
and  as  surely  as  a  small  one.  No  railway  corn- 
pan}-  however  large,  dares  disobey  the  order  of  a 
magistrate.  If  it  be  said  that  a  large  railway 
company,  in  receipt  of  a  large  income,  can  bribe 
public  officials,  more  easily  than  a  small  company, 
two  answers  may  be  given  :  First,  elect  officials 
who  can  not  be  bribed ;  the  people  always  have 
this  remedy  in  their  hands.  Second,  the  resources 
of  a  small  railway  company  are  ample  to  bribe  an 
official,  if  he  is  willing  to  be  bribed.  The  millions 
of  a  large  corporation  are  not  needed  for  this  pur- 
pose. Put  these  facts  to  the  next  man  you  hear 
talking  of  the  danger  of  large  railroad  combina- 
tions. 

The  third  step  in  the  evolution  of  the  railway 
system  is  the  object  for  which  a  railway  is  con- 
structed. Years  ago,  railways  were  built  because 
they  were  needed.  People  wanted  easy  access 
to  markets  where  they  wished  to  buy  or  sell ; 


7 

they  subscribed  money,  applied  it  as  far  as  it 
would  go,  and  borrowed  what  was  needed,  to  com- 
plete the  railway.  In  modern  times,  many  rail- 
ways are  built  not  because  they  are  needed,  but 
because  certain  men  wish  to  make  money  by 
building  them.  They  win  or  lose  in  proportion  as 
they  induce  the  public  to  buy  the  stocks  and 
bonds  they  issue.  It  has  long  been  the  policy  of 
the  law  to  limit  the  amount  of  stock  and  bonds  a 
railway  company  may  issue,  to  the  necessary  and 
reasonable  cost  of  construction.  But  the  law  has 
not  yet  become  wise  enough  to  limit  the  amount 
which  may  be  issued  for  the  purchase  of  a  rail- 
way. Hence,  the  exploiters  of  balloon  railways 
organize  two  companies  :  First,  a  railway  com- 
pany ;  second,  a  construction  company.  Then, 
as  a  railway  company,  they  contract  with  them- 
selves as  a  construction  company,  and  agree,  as  a 
railway  company,  to  issue  a  certain  amount  of 
bonds  and  stock,  and  deliver  all  these  bonds  and 
stocks  to  themselves,  as  a  construction  company, 
to  pay  for  building  the  railroad.  There  is  no  re- 
lation whatever,  between  the  cost  of  the  railway 


8 

and  the  amount  of  bonds  and  stock  they  take  for 
building  it,  except  that  universally  the  latter 
largely  exceed  the  former.  These  promoters  sel- 
dom expect  to  make  money  by  operating  the  rail- 
road. If  they  succeed  in  selling  to  an  ignorant 
public  the  bonds  and  stock  they  have  issued,  then 
in  a  short  time  the  public  loses  its  money  ;  or  if 
the  promoters  do  not  succeed  in  unloading  on  the 
public  their  bonds  and  stocks,  then  the  loss  falls 
on  themselves,  and  they  have  their  railroad  and 
their  pains  for  nothing. 

A  railway  once  built,  though  yielding  nothing  to 
its  owners,  is  seldom  destroyed.  It  passes  from 
one  stage  of  reorganization  to  another,  always  on 
a  downward  scale,  until  it  reaches  a  level  where 
its  income  may  be  sufficient  to  keep  it  in  opera- 
tion. Meanwhile,  in  its  efforts  to  avoid  repeated 
bankruptcy,  it  cuts  rates,  carries  passengers  and 
freight  at  a  loss,  and  in  the  process  impoverishes 
and  sometimes  destroys  the  value  of  other  railway 
properties. 

Public  opinion  in  this  country  has  not  yet 
reached  the  stage  of  protecting  people  who  have 

8 


9 

invested  their  money  in  railways  which  serve  the 
public,  by  preventing  the  construction  of  new  rail- 
ways which  are  not  needed.  But  people  will  some 
day  see  the  folly  of  permitting  speculators  to  take 
other  men's  land  and  encumber  streets  and  high- 
ways with  a  useless  railroad,  merely  to  make 
money  for  themselves ;  and  some  day  they  may 
think  it  wise  to  protect  the  public  against  worth- 
less railway  stocks  and  bonds,  as  they  now  protect 
it  against  quack  lawyers,  doctors,  foods  and  medi- 
cines. 

The  functions  of  a  railway  company  are  two- 
fold :  First,  to  serve  the  public  by  carrying  people 
and  freight ;  second,  to  yield  income  to  its  owners 
by  doing  so.  The  public,  no  less  than  railway 
officials,  often  lose  sight  of  the  mutual  duties  and 
responsibilities  which  come  of  this  relationship. 
The  public  should  be  well  served  by  railway  com- 
panies. This  means  that  trains  should  be  moved 
safely,  punctually  and  at  reasonable  rates.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  public  should  allow  capital 
thus  employed  in  its  service  to  receive  fair  in- 
come. How  many  persons  ever  think  of  this? 


IO 

Hostility  to  railways  has  come  from  a  variety 
of  sources :  First,  the  owners  of  a  railway  are 
usually  numerous,  widely  scattered  and  unknown. 
Hence,  in  dealing  with  it,  the  public  loses  the  sense 
of  personal  relationship  which  is  usually  observed 
in  dealing  with  individuals.  Men  are  often  re- 
strained from  doing  wrong  to  an  individual,  because 
he  is  personally  known,  or  they  know  that  incon- 
venience, loss  and  possibly  ruin,  would  follow  their 
wrongful  act.  On  the  other  hand,  the  shipper  who 
gives  false  weights,  the  passenger  who  sneaks  his 
way  on  a  train,  the  tax  commissioner  who  levies 
an  intolerable  assessment,  the  law-maker  who  in 
one  session  adds  to  the  expenses  and  cuts  down 
the  income  of  railways,  the  jury  that  gives  ex- 
cessive damages  against  a  railroad  company,  re- 
gard the  particular  theft  or  award  they  are  guilty 
of  as  a  mere  moiety  compared  with  the  gross  earn- 
ings of  a  railway  company.  They  have  no  idea 
of  injurious,  personal  loss ;  nor  do  they  consider 
that  the  number  of  shippers,  passengers,  tax  offi- 
cials and  juries  who  are  doing  precisely  as  they 
are  doing  is  infinite,  and  the  result  to  railways 

destructive. 

10 


II 

Next,  railways,  by  reason  of  the  large  capital 
they  represent,  the  magnitude  of  their  operations, 
the  vast  number  of  persons  employed,  create  a 
jealousy  of  their  operations  which  is  distinctly 
human.  The  personal  friendship  which  subsists 
between  employer  and  employe  when  they  work 
"side  by  side,  is  wanting  in  the  case  of  a  railway 
company.  In  the  earlier  period  of  railways,  their 
officers  were  sometimes  arbitrary,  inconsiderate 
and  unjust ;  their  employes  were  often  careless, 
impudent  and  rude.  If  freight  was  delayed,  dam- 
aged or  lost,  a  long  time  elapsed  before  compen- 
sation was  paid.  When  persons  were  injured, 
managers  did  not  accept  the  theory  of  the  injured 
party,  hence  arose  mutterings,  law  suits,  and  re- 
vengeful feelings.  Persons  involved  in  these 
various  mishaps  did  not  make  fine  distinctions  as 
to  their  causes.  If  brakemen  were  insolent,  the 
passenger  did  not  consider  that  when  employes 
are  counted  by  thousands  it  is  impossible  to  se- 
cure a  gentleman  in  every  employe.  Shippers 
did  not  consider  that  human  beings  serving  as  rail- 
way employes  make  mistakes  the  same  as  other 


ii 


12 

men ;  nor  the  more  important  fact,  that  when 
claims  for  damages  amount  to  thousands,  each 
must  be  adjusted  in  the  order  of  presentation. 

Gradually  railway  companies  have  emerged 
from  the  feudal  stage  of  administration  ;  competi- 
tion has  made  their  managers  less  arbitrary ;  or- 
ganization has  secured  promptness  in  settlement 
of  claims  ;  experience  has  taught  that  railway 
companies  have  many  points  to  overcome  before 
they  have  an  even  chance. with  a  private  individ- 
ual before  a  jury.  The  result  is  that  under  wiser 
policies  huvsuits  diminish  in  number,  settlements 
without  suit  increase,  and  the  causes  of  prejudice 
gradually  disappear. 

In  the  practical  administration  of  a  railway  the 
daily  object  in  view  is  the  same  as  in  any  other 
kind  of  business — increase  earnings ;  reduce  ex- 
penses. Formerly,  when  railroads  were  local  af- 
fairs, with  limited  mileage  and  traffic,  the  Presi- 
dent was  usually  a  prominent  business  man, 
banker,  lawyer  or  capitalist.  In  those  days  busi- 
ness-came  unbidden  to  the  company.  All  the  lat- 
ter had  to  do  was  to  exercise  judgment  on  ques- 


12 


13 

tions  of  policy,  aided  by  experts  in  matters  of 
construction,  operation  and  traffic.  These  primi- 
tive methods  have  gradually  given  way  to  changed 
conditions.  Railways  have  multiplied,  extended, 
consolidated ;  separate  lines  have  been  amalga- 
mated into  a  single  system.  There  is  hardly  a 
fractional  point  of  the  compass  to  which  one  or 
more  railways  is  not  directed ;  traffic  no  longer 
flows  in  natural  channels.  It  is  invited,  solicited, 
bought  and  fought  for.  Under  these  conditions, 
organization,  classification,  subdivision  of  duty  is 
the  order  of  the  day.  Each  department  has  its 
specially  trained  employes,  most  of  them  having 
spent  their  lives  in  railway  service.  Every  year 
the  management  and  operation  of  railways  be- 
comes more  and  more  a  distinct,  technical  profes- 
sion. 

A  majority  of  railways  derive  from  one-half  to 
three-fourths  of  their  earnings  from  freight  traffic. 
A  few,  leading  to  summer  and  winter  resorts  or 
between  large  cities,  find  their  main  income  in 
passenger  traffic.  In  any  event,  modern  condi- 
tions require  a  freight  department  and  a  passenger 

13 


department  to  secure  traffic ;  an  operating  and 
maintaining  department  to  haul  the  traffic ;  a 
treasury  department  to  receive  and  keep  the 
money  that  is  earned  ;  an  accounting  department 
to  show  whence  the  money  comes  and  whither  it 
should  go,  and  a  law  department  to  give  daily  and 
hourly  advice,  prepare  deeds,  contracts  and  mort- 
gages, and  especially  protect  the  company's  rights 
when  the  same  are  involved  in  litigation. 

For  the  purpose  of  securing  traffic  the  freight 
and  passenger  departments  are  conducted  on  a 
basis  similar  to  that  of  wholesale  commercial 
houses.  Territory  in  which  the  system  is  located, 
territory  beyond  either  terminal  and  on  either 
side  of  the  main  line,  is  divided  into  districts,  each" 
in  charge  of  division  agents,  each  supplied  with 
solicitors  for  traffic,who  travel  from  town  to  town, 
from  city  to  city,  and  in  cities  from  house  to  house, 
in  search  of  persons  who  wish  to  travel  or  haw 
something  carried.  This  army  of  men  working 
to. secure  traffic  is  in  hourly  communication  with 
superior  officers  by  mail,  telegraph  and  telephone. 
The  typical  passenger  agent  persuades  people  to 

14 


15 

travel  by  his  line  who  neither  wish  nor  need  to 
travel.  The  typical  freight  agent  represents  a 
line  which  carries  so  safely,  swiftly  and  cheaply 
ahead  of  all  competitors  that  even  dead  freight 
rejoices  in  the  prospect  of  traveling  over  it. 
Sometimes  the  cost  of  securing  traffic  exceeds  all 
income  that  is  derived  from  carrying  it. 

Closely  allied  to  the  question  of  earning  money 
is  the  question  of  earning  it  at  least  possible  cost. 
Herein  are  involved  matters  of  operation  and  main- 
tenance. The  pole  star  of  train  movement  is  high 
speed  and  safety.  Transportation  is  merely  means 
to  an  end.  A  person  at  A.  has  business  at  B.; 
lu-  wants  to  go  from  A.  to  B.  as  fast  as  he  can 
and  get  back  as  soon  as  he  can,  but  he  wants  to 
go  and  come  without  injury.  Freight  traffic  not 
wanted  at  A.  is  wanted  at  B.  Capital  invested 
in  it  is  idle  till  it  reaches  destination.  On  the 
other  hand,  engines  and  cars  are  unproductive 
when  not  in  motion,  and  the  loss  is  great  unless 
trains  move  safely.  A  thousand  conditions  are 
essential  to  secure  speed  and  safety.  It  is  not 
difficult  to  oret  engines  whose  capacity  for  speed 

15 


i6 

will  meet  the  wishes  of  all.  The  obstacles  are  in 
the  track,  in  grades  which  limit  the  speed  of  move- 
ment, in  curves  which  increase  the  distance  to  be 
traveled.  The  nearer  a  track  approaches  a 
straight  and  level  line  the  greater  the  possibilities 
of  success  in  both  speed  and  safety.  But  while  a 
railroad  once  straight  is  always  straight,  a  rail- 
road once  level  is  not  always  level.  Rain,  frost, 
continuous  and  heavy  pounding  of  trains  perpetu- 
ally cause  defects  in  the  track.  These  defects 
must  be  perpetually  repaired  ;  otherwise,  costly 
engines  and  cars  are  injured,  and  liability  to  more 
costly  accidents  ensues.  A  good  track  is,  there- 
fore, the  indispensable  condition  of  success. 

I  have  said  that  engines  and  cars  are  unpro- 
ductive when  not  in  motion.  Their  profit  is  also 
diminished  by  slow  movement;  a  small  amount 
of  equipment,  efficiently  handled,  answers  the 
purpose  of  a  large  amount  inefficiently  handled. 
In  this  connection,  it  is  also  important  that  cars 
should  be  quickly  loaded  and  unloaded.  The 
daily  mileage  of  a  freight  car  is  an  indication  of 
the  efficiency  with  which  it  is  handled.  A  few 

16 


17 

years  ago,  the  average  daily  mileage  of  these  cars 
on  certain  railways  was  between  fifty  and  sixty 
miles  ;  on  the  same  railways,  it  has  declined  in 
some  instances  to  between  twenty  and  thirty 
miles.  Part  of  this  reduction  is  due  to  poor  man- 
agement ;  a  greater  part  is  due  to  causes  which 
can  not  be  controlled.  For  want  of  adequate  facili- 
ties at  large  cities  or  terminal  stations,  loaded  and 
empty  cars  are  detained  days  and  even  weeks, 
waiting  to  receive  or  discharge  their  burden. 
This  evil  is  to  some  extent  overcome  by  the  mod- 
ern system  of  demurrage,  under  which  a  nominal 
charge  of  a  dollar  or  two  per  day  is  made  when 
cars  are  detained  beyond  a  specified  time. 

Speed  and  safety  are  not  the  only  requisites  of 
successful  railroad  operation.  It  is  essential  in 
movement  of  freight  traffic,  that  the  greatest  pos- 
sible number  of  tons  should  be  carried  by  each 
train.  I  think  it  may  be  said  that  the  most  inter- 
esting and  complex  problem  in  freight  movement 
is  to  constantly  increase  the  number  of  tons  per 
train  ;  each  train  must  have  one  engine  and  staff 
of  men  —  engineer,  fireman,  conductor,  brakemen. 


(a) 


i8 

It  is  easily  seen  that  the  more  freight  this  outfit 
can  safely  carry,  the  greater  is  the  profit.  Ob- 
serve now  what  is  developed  in  order  to  secure 
this  important  result.  Large  engines  take  the 
place  of  smaller  ones ;  a  heavier  load  can  be 
hauled  over  a  light  than  a  heavy  grade  ;  there- 
fore grades  are  reduced  to  the  lowest  possible 
limit.  To  make  this  work  effective,  it  is  some- 
times necessary  to  reduce  only  the  highest,  or,  as 
it  is  called,  the  ruling  grade,  to  attain  the  desired 
level ;  at  other  times,  a  number  of  lighter  grades 
may  be  reduced,  the  number  of  cars  or  tons  per 
train  increased,  and  the  increased  load  carried 
over  the  ruling  grade  by  aid  of  an  extra  engine. 
Sometimes  the  expense  of  reducing  grades  is  so 
great  that  in  view  of  the  amount  of  traffic,  it  is 
not  profitable  to  change  them.  The  expediency 
of  the  proposed  change  is  determined  by  the  civil 
engineer,  who  reports  the  cost  of  the  proposed 
change,  and  the  manager,  who  calculates  what  he 
can  save  by  the  increased  tonnage  per  train.  It 
is  a  pure  question  of  mathematics,  and,  as  I  have 
said,  an  interesting  and  important  one. 

18 


19 

The  larger  engine  needed  to  haul  heavier  trains 
calls  for  stronger  bridges  and  heavier  rails.  The 
longer  trains  call  for  longer  sidings ;  main  tracks 
are  doubled  and  trebled  ;  additional  right  of  way 
must  be  bought,  freight  stations  and  platforms 
must  be  enlarged. 

Time  does  not  permit  a  closer  examination  of 
these  details.  Suffice  it  to  say  the  brightest  minds 
are  ever  on  the  alert  to  devise  new  means  to  in- 
crease the  tonnage  per  train  and  reduce  the  cost 
of  operation  and  maintenance.  In  this  respect 
the  highest  encouragement  is  afforded  to  students 
of  technical  schools,  like  Purdue  University.  The 
graduate  of  one  of  these  schools,  armed  with  a 
diploma  and  clothed  in  overalls,  can  make  rapid 
progress  in  a  railroad  shop  and  soon  find  a  place 
where  honorable  employment  and  sure  pay  will 
attend  him  as  long  as  health  and  life  are  spared. 
The  maintenance  of  track  is  no  longer,  as  form- 
erly, confided  to  supervisors  who  have  been  used 
to  pick  and  shovel,  and  accustomed  to  work  and 
direct  by  the  rule  of  thumb  or  jolt.  That  most 
important  work  is  now  performed  by  trained  civil 

19 


20 

engineers,  who  bring  to  their  daily  task  the  best 
and  latest  methods  of  their  profession. 

A  railway  company  having  effected  plans  to 
secure  traffic  and  carry  it  cheaply  and  safely, 
must  next  provide  that  the  money  earned  shall 
be  received  and  properly  applied  ;  hence  exist  the 
accounting  and  treasury  departments.  The  former 
tells  whence  every  dollar  of  revenue  should  come 
and  how  it  should  be  applied  ;  the  latter  receives 
and  pays  the  cash. 

The  operations  of  a  railway  are  hardly  less 
destructive  than  those  of  war.  Materials  are 
necessarily  consumed  daily  as  if  they  were  cast 
into  a  fiery  furnace.  In  spite  of  all  precaution 
structures  give  away,  trains  are  wrecked,  prop- 
erty is  injured,  limb  and  life  are  destroyed  ;  wages 
accrue  every  day  ;  interest  on  bonds  grows  every 
day  in  the  week  and  every  hour  of  the  day.  Pay- 
ments on  these  accounts  must  be  made  every  clay, 
and  unless  there  is  an  inexorable  system  of  se- 
curing daily  the  money  which  has  been  earned 
the  movement  of  trains  must  cease. 


20 


21 

The  earnings  of  a  railway  company  come  from 
persons  counted  by  tens  and  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands;  classification  makes  the  problem  simple. 
This  army  of  persons  is  made  up  of  passengers, 
shippers  of  freight,  station  agents,  conductors  ; 
also  treasury  officials  who  receive  large  sums  due 
on  interchange  of  business ;  also  on  contracts 
with  other  railway  companies,  express  and  sleep- 
ing car  companies  and  the  government.  Passen- 
gers must  pay  in  advance  for  the  service  they 
receive,  either  in  purchase  of  a  ticket  from  the 
station  agent,  or  in  cash  to  the  train  conductor ; 
shippers  of  freight  or  consignees  must  pay  for 
freight  carried  before  it  is  delivered  at  destination. 
Conductors  are  required  to  deliver  cash  collected 
at  the  end  of  each  trip  ;  station  agents  must  remit 
each  day  the  cash  receipts  of  that  day.  By 
means  of  a  thorough  system  of  accounting  the 
use  of  way  bills,  manifests,  daily  reports,  etc., 
the  accounting  department  can  tell  to  a  dollar  how 
much  money  each  station  agent  or  other  receiv- 
ing agent  of  the  company  should  remit,  and  he  is 
charged  with  that  amount.  Traveling  auditors 


21 


22 

call  often  and  at  unexpected  times  to  examine 
the  accounts  of  agents.  Between  these  calls  it  is 
possible  for  an  agent  to  manipulate  his  accounts, 
accumulate  a  considerable  sum  of  money  and  run 
away  with  it.  To  protect  the  company  in  cases 
of  this  kind  every  receiving  agent  is  required  to 
give  bond  for  good  behavior.  No  ingenuity  has 
yet  been  able  to  devise  a  perfect  check  on  the 
accounts  of  a  conductor  who  collects  cash  fares 
on  a  train.  As  railway  systems  become  enlarged 
and  the  magnitude  of  their  operations  attracts 
public  attention,  railway  employes  naturally  ac- 
quire a  higher  sense  of  duty  and  honor.  To  this 
cause  equally  with  the  thorough  organization  of 
the  accounting  department,  which  makes  the  dis- 
covery and  punishment  of  dishonesty  almost  cer- 
tain, is  to  be  attributed  the  success  of  railway 
companies  in  collecting  their  vast  revenues.  Hun- 
dreds of  millions  may  be  involvecf,  and  not  a  case 
of  embezzlement  occur  in  years. 

The  relation  of  a  law  department  to  a  railway 
company  is  so  apparent  that  it  is  hardly  necessary 
to  define  it.  The  law  holds  railway  companies  to 


22 


23 

a  high  degree  of  responsibility,  and  with  few  ex- 
ceptions, makes  them  liable  for  acts  of  their  em- 
ployes, and  for  the  character  and  condition  of 
track,  tools,  machinery  and  equipment.  The 
high  speed  at  which  trains  are  moved  causes 
accidents  to  employes,  passengers  and  people  and 
domestic  animals  on  the  track.  The  movement 
of  heavy  engines  and  cars  in  yards  and  on  side 
tracks,  the  shifting,  coupling  and  uncoupling  of 
cars  in  making  and  dismembering  trains,  is  a  pro- 
lific cause  of  injury  which  can  not  be  avoided. 
In  spite  of  thorough  organization  and  rigid  rules 
for  the  inspection  of  track,  engines,  cars  and  ma- 
chinery, passengers  and  employes  are  injured. 
Freight  is  delayed,  injured,  stolen  or  destroyed. 
Passengers  are  ejected  from  trains.  Defective 
culverts  and  drains  cause  water  to  accumulate  on 
adjacent  land.  Sparks  from  engines  kindle  fire 
in  adjoining  fields;  claims  and  suits  for  damages 
are  always  pending,  based  on  the  accidents  and 
injuries  enumerated.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  law 
department  to  protect  the  company  in  cases  of 
this  kind.  It  also  begins  suits  to  condemn  addi- 


24 

tional  lands,  to  enforce  the  company's  contracts, 
to  protect  it  against  unlawful  taxes  and  assess- 
ments threatened  by  city,  township,  county  and 
State  authority.  It  assists  in  prosecution  of  per- 
sons who  have  committed  crime  against  the 
property,  employes  and  patrons  of  the  company. 
It  is  also  called  upon  hourly  to  prepare  contracts, 
deeds,  leases,  mortgages,  and  to  give  advice  to 
officers  and  employes  in  respect  to  their  duties 
and  the  rights  of  the  company.  The  organiza- 
tion of  the  law  department  of  a  railway  company 
depends  on  the  magnitude  of  the  company's  op- 
erations. Usually  there  is  a  general  counsel, 
aided  by  assistants,  clerks  and  stenographers  at 
the  general  offices  of  the  company,  and  the  terri- 
tory in  which  the  railways  of  the  system  are 
situated  is  divided  into  districts,  each  in  charge  of 
a  regular  solicitor.  It  is  the  duty  of  district 
solicitors  to  prosecute  and  defend  in  all  civil 
causes  arising  in  their  respective  districts,  also  to 
attend  coroner's  inquests  when  persons  have 
been  killed  by  trains ;  also  to  represent  the  com- 
pany before  city,  township  and  county  authorities 

24 


25 

in  matters  where  the  company's  interests  are  the 
subject  of  consideration. 

A  prominent  feature  in  a  modern  railway  sys- 
tem is  the  department  of  claims.  The  destructive 
character  of  the  operation  of  a  railway  creates  so 
many  claims  for  damage  that  it  has  been  found 
expedient  to  establish  a  special  department  to  ad- 
just these  claims.  To  this  department  reports  by 
wire  and  mail  are  promptly  made  of  all  cases  of 
personal  injury  and  death,  in  order  that  experts 
may  at  once  investigate  the  cause  of  the  accident, 
gather  proof,  name  and  address  of  witnesses,  and 
in  cases  where  the  company  is  liable,  arrange 
a  speedy  and  satisfactory  settlement.  In  many 
cities  there  are  attorneys  who  give  special 
attention  to  what  are  known  as  personal  injury 
and  death  claims  against  railway  companies. 
They  read  newspapers  carefully  to  get  early  in- 
formation of  railroad  accidents.  If  persons  are 
injured  or  killed  they  go  or  send  an  agent  to  the 
injured  person,  or  in  case  of  death,  to  the  house 
of  mourning,  and  offer  their  services  to  bring  suit 
against  the  railway  company.  Sometimes  they 

25 


26 

go  to  the  family  of  a  deceased  person  before  the 
funeral  has  taken  place.  Sometimes  they  begin 
suit  for  damages  in  behalf  of  persons  who  have 
net  employed  them.  It  is  not  surprising  to  know 
that  attorneys  like  these  rob  their  clients  of  from 
one-third  to  one-half  of  all  they  collect,  charging 
for  their  unimportant  services  of  a  few  hours  as 
much  as  an  injured  person  receives  who  spends 
the  remainder  of  his  life  a  cripple,  or  as  much  as 
a  family  receives  which  has  been  bereft  of  a  hus- 
band or  father.  To  guard  against  outrages  of  this 
kind  the  claim  department,  with  its  thoroughly 
equipped  agents,  makes  speedy  investigation  of 
every  accident,  and  in  cases  of  liability  promptly 
tenders  compensation  for  the  injury  it  has  caused. 
By  this  arrangement  those  who  have  suffered  in- 
jury receive  compensation,  avoid  the  exactions  of 
attorneys,  and  the  slow  and  vexatious  course  of 
legal  proceedings.  This  work  is  both  politic  and 
humane,  and  tends  to  relieve  railway  companies 
of  much  of  the  prejudice  which  has  arisen  against 
them. 


26 


27 

I  have  spoken  of  the  classification  of  the  busi- 
ness of  a  railway  system  and  its  distribution 
among  various  departments.  Something  remains 
to  be  said  of  the  general  policy  of  its  management. 
Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  gradual 
enlargement  of  different  systems  of  railways  ;  the 
'large  increase  of  mileage  and  the  vast  amount  of 
capital  involved  in  their  operations.  Several  lead- 
ing railways  have  their  eastern  termini  on  the 
Atlantic  coast  line,  and  extending  westward  across 
several  States,  have  western  termini  on  the  great 
lakes ;  also  on  rivers  which  find  an  outlet  in  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  Their  operations  are  subject  to 
control  by  State  and  Federal  authority.  They  are 
in  ceaseless  competition  with  each  other.  Traffic 
of  the  same  kind  moves  in  opposite  directions  on 
the  same  line.  Their  own  traffic  at  one  point  is 
in  competition  with  the  same  kind  of  traffic  at 
another  point.  This  traffic  is  local,  interstate  and 
international,  each  demanding  consideration  pe- 
culiar to  itself.  These  various  lines  are  operated 
on  unequal  conditions.  One  has  the  longest  dis- 
tance ;  another  has  easier  grades ;  a  third  has. 

27 


cheaper  fuel ;  a  fourth  traverses  a  populous  coun- 
try ;  another  has  little  traffic,  except  between 
terminal  stations.  Some  have  no  rival  lines  at 
important  centers  of  trade  ;  others  have  from  two 
to  a  dozen  competitors  at  one  or  more  terminal 
points.  One  company  is  burdened  with  a  heavy 
debt ;  its  rival  has  moderate  interest  charges.  As 
a  result  of  all  these  varieties  of  condition,  the  cost 
of  moving  traffic  is  not  the  same  to  any  two  com- 
panies. Except  on  rare  occasions,  the  supply  of 
railway  service  is  largely  in  excess  of  the  demand. 
Back  of  all  is  the  ever  a^ressive  greed  of  the 
large  shipper,  whose  custom  every  railway  wants, 
and  is  given  to  the  railway  which  will  charge  the 
least  for  its  service.  Every  hour  of  the  traffic 
manager's  life  is  afflicted  with  news  that  a  valued 
patron  has  been  persuaded  to  ship  by  another  line, 
or  can  be  retained  only  by  a  deep  reduction  of 
rates,  involving  a  loss  of  revenue  to  the  railway 
company  amounting  to  hundreds,  thousands,  tens 
of  thousands  and  even  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
dollars  in  a  single  case.  These  troubles  are  inci- 
dent to  the  mere  acquisition  and  preservation  of 

28 


29 

traffic  ;  they  are  incessant,  corroding  and  destruc- 
tive ;  they  turn  men's  hair  gray,  smite  them  with 
palsy  and  drive  them  to  early  graves. 

In  the  intervals  between  losing  traffic  and  buy- 
ing it  back  at  deadly  cost,  how  is  the  railway  man- 
agement occupied?  Lands  must  be  bought  for 
additional  right  of  way  and  depot  facilities.  Ship- 
pers want  side  tracks  to  their  elevators,  ware- 
houses and  shops  ;  coal  operators,  stone  quarriers, 
furnace  men  want  branch  lines  built ;  connecting 
railways  want  a  joint  use  of  tracks  and  facilities ; 
weak  holders  of  worthless  railroads  want  to  sell 
them  ;  new  lines  must  be  built  to  protect  those 
already  owned ;  old  employes  want  pensions ; 
myriads  of  outsiders  want  employment ;  village 
councils  want  street  crossings  lighted  ;  city  coun- 
cils want  to  pave  streets,  establish  sewers,  secure 
new  railways  and  give  bounties  to  manufacturers, 
largely  at  the  expense  of  railways ;  others  de- 
mand change  of  grade  of  tracks,  elevated  tracks, 
viaducts,  and  sometimes  order  to  destruction  one 
kind  of  improvement  they  have  ordered  to  be 
built,  before  it  is  paid  for,  to  make  way  for  another 

29 


30 

which  will  better  please  their  taste  or  gratify  their 
revenge.  People  along  the  line  want  every  con- 
venience at  stations.  Boomers  of  towns  and  cities 
want  special  train  service.  Lawmakers  want  to 
give  everything  that  is  asked  for  against  railways, 
and  men  in  every  department  of  public  service, 
village,  city,  county,  State  and  Federal,  want  to 
ride  free  ;  not  all,  but  nearly  all,  and  not  merely 
for  themselves,  but  for  their  families,  friends  and 
companions  ;  meanwhile,  old  debts  are  maturing 
and  new  bonds  and  mortgages  must  be  created. 
Current  interest  and  other  obligations  must  be 
met.  No  one  would  expect  that  in  this  increase 
of  burdens  and  decrease  of  income  railways  could 
continue  to  be  solvent.  I  might  with  truth  add 
that,  except  the  security  holders,  no  one  would 
care  ;  and  the  fact  justifies  the  expectation  ;  within 
two  years  last  past  more  than  twenty-five  per 
cent,  of  the  total  railway  mileage  of  the  United 
States  has  been  in  the  hands  of  receivers.  To 
cap  the  climax,  at  a  time  when  railroad  property  is 
most  worthless ;  when  more  than  one-half  the 
capital  invested  in  railways  is  unproductive,  there 

30 


3* 

are  people  who  want  to  lay  heavier  burdens  upon 
them,  reduce  still  further  their  income,  and  in- 
crease the  taxes  which  are  levied  upon  them. 

The  people  of  the  United  States-  are  just,  and  if 
they  know  the  facts,  they  are  not  willing  to  be 
guilty  of  injustice.  They  will  concede  that  capital 
honestly  invested  should  yield  reasonable  income; 
especially  are  they  willing  that  the  man  who 
serves  them  should  be  compensated  for  that  serv- 
ice ;  no  one  will  deny  that  railway  companies  ren- 
der service  to  the  public.  They  carry  people, 
freight,  express,  parcels,  newspapers  and  letters; 
no  inconvenience  can  be  imagined  which  would 
affect  so  large  a  body  of  people  as  that  which 
would  result  if  railway  trains  should  cease  to  move. 
Burdens  imposed  by  Legislatures,  taxes  levied  by 
tax  commissioners  would  not  be  excessive  if  it 
were  known  that  these  burdens  and  taxes  were 
too  severe.  Law-makers  would  not  reduce  the 
income  of  railways,  nor  would  they  forbid  railway 
companies  to  make  arrangements  with  each  other 
t<>  protect  their  income,  if  they  believed  the  income 
so  protected  were  necessary  to  properly  operate 


32 

and  maintain  these  railways,  and,  in  addition,  yield 
a  fair  dividend  to  stockholders.  The  fact  is  that, 
at  this  time,  one-third  of  all  railway  bonds  in  the 
United  States  are  in  default  of  interest,  and  more 
than  two-thirds  of  all  railway  stocks  yield  no  divi- 
dend. The  aggregate  amount  of  these  bonds  and 
stocks  in  default  is  between  five  and  six  billion 
dollars,  and  every  one  of  the  railways  is  in  opera- 
tion, serving  the  public,  and  more  than  half  of 
them  receiving  no  pay  for  the  service. 

The  blame  of  this  situation  rests  not  wholly  on 
the  public.  The  public  can  no  more  guarantee 
profit  to  all  railways  than  to  all  mills  or  farms. 
Many  railways  were  built,  not  because  they  were 
needed,  but  because  exploiters  wished  to  make 
money  in  building  them.  Others  were  built  in 
good  faith,  but  in  bad  judgment,  hence  predestined 
to  bankruptcy ;  nevertheless,  railways  built  by 
exploiters  and  those  built  by  men  of  bad  judgment, 
no  less  than  those  which  were  built  for  an  honest 
purpose  and  in  good  judgment,  serve  the  public 
unceasingly,  by  carrying  them  and  their  freight, 


33 

their  newspapers  and  their  letters.     What  is  the 
duty  of  the  public  toward  them  ? 

The  first  duty  of  the  public  towards  railways  is 
to  deal  with  them  with  knowledge* not  in  ignor- 
ance ;  with  reason,  not  in  prejudice.  How  many 
people  know  that  recently  twenty-five  per  cent,  of 
the  entire  railway  mileage  of  the  country  was  in 
bankruptcy  ?  How  many  know  that  one-half  the 
money  invested  in  American  railways  yields  not 
a  cent  to  its  owners  ?  This  knowledge  should, 
and  will  when  it  prevails,  convince  people  that 
railways  are  not  earning  too  much  money.  Many 
people  believe  that  railway  property  is  not  taxed, 
or  if  taxed,  not  taxed  enough.  They  learn  this 
from  newspapers  and  street  talkers.  Go  to  the 
Treasurer's  office  in  any  township,  city  or  county 
in  the  State ;  ask  your  servant,  the  Treasurer, 
what  is  the  fact ;  you  ought  to  be  willing  to  be- 
lieve him.  If  you  think  railway  companies  are 
earning  too  much  money,  go  to  another  high  serv- 
ant of  yours,  the  Auditor  of  State ;  ask  him  to 
tell  you  how  many  railway  companies  in  the  State 
have  been  bankrupt,  how  many  pay  dividends  to 

(3)  33 


34 

stockholders  and  interest  to  bondholders  ;  ask  him 
and  ask  the  Governor  to  tell  you  if  they  think  the 
railways  in  Indiana  earn  too  much  money,  and  if 
they  say  yes,  ask  them  to  specify  what  companies 
they  refer  to,  and  tell  how  much  they  earn  and  how 
much  less  they  ought  to  earn.  In  this  way  you 
will  get  knowledge,  and  no  longer  act  in  ignor- 
ance. 

Prejudice  is  an  intangible,  impalpable,  invisible 
enemy,  most  difficult  to  conquer ;  a  vague  im- 
pression, derived  from  unworthy  or  unreliable 
sources.  The  longer  it  exists  in  the  mind  the 
stronger  it  becomes,  and  as  it  rests  not  in  reason, 
but  wholly  in  ignorance,  you  can  not  assail  it  with 
reason.  There  is  no  hope  for  the  case  unless  it  is 
willing  to  learn  facts  and  become  enlightened. 

A  prejudice  exists  against  railways.  They  are 
feared  because  times  and  conditions  have  consoli- 
dated them  into  large  systems.  But  why  do  you 
fear  a  large  railway  more  than  a  small  railway  ? 
Do  you  think  a  thousand  miles  of  track  under  one 
control  more  formidable  than  a  hundred  miles,  or 
ten  ?  Is  a  long  train  of  cars  more  dangerous  to 

34 


35 

your  liberties  than  a  short  train  ?  Is  a  spacious, 
airy,  well  furnished  car  a  menace  to  your  rights  ? 
Surely  danger  does  not  lie  in  the  number  or  length 
of  rails,  or  trains,  or  the  furnishing  of  a  car.  Do 
you  fear  that  large  railways  will  set  themselves 
above  the  law  or  defy  the  courts  ?  Go  to  any 
Justice  of  the  Peace  in  any  township,  in  any  State 
in  which  is  situated  the  largest  railway  in  America, 
ask  that  Justice  of  the  Peace  if  he  has  any  dif- 
ficulty in  bringing  that  colossal  railway  company 
into  his  little  forum  ;  he  will  answer,  "  Not  a  bit. 
I  send  the  constable  with  a  little  piece  of  paper, 
telling  the  company  to  come  before  me  and  it 
comes."  Ask  any  prosecuting  attorney  in  any 
county  in  America  whether  he  has  any  difficulty 
in  indicting  or  punishing  a  railway  company  or 
employe  for  a  crime  ?  He  will  tell  you,  "  Not 
any  more  than  in  case  of  individuals."  Do  you 
fear  the  influence  of  large  railway  companies  more 
than  small  companies  in  corrupting  juries,  public 
officials  and  law  makers  ?  Ask  any  attorney  in 
any  county  in  America  whether  he  knows  of  rail- 
way attorneys  bribing  juries,  or  whether  it  is  dif- 

35 


36 

ficult  for  a  poor  man  to  get  a  verdict  against  a 
great  railway  company  ?  He  will  tell  you  that  it 
is  easier  for  a  camel  to  pass  through  the  eye  of  a 
needle  than  for  a  large  railway  company  to  win  a 
jury,  verdict  in  any  kind  of  a  case. 

If  you  fear  large  railway  companies  more  than 
small  ones  in  their  power  to  bribe  public  officials, 
consider  whether  there  is  really  any  difference 
between  the  two.  A  large  railway  company  has 
no  greater  inclination  to  bribe  than  a  small  com- 
pany. The  value  of  a  local  privilege  which  a 
railway  company  might  wish  to  have,  is  no  greater 
to  a  large  company  than  to  a  small  one.  Neither 
does  the  vaster  income  or  credit  of  the  large  com- 
pany count  for  more  than  the  smaller  income  of 
the  smaller  company.  If  the  small  company  is 
disposed  to  bribe,  its  smaller  resources  yield  all 
that  is  needed  to  satisfy  the  corruptible  official. 

When  you  have  explored  every  source  of  your 
fear  of  large  railway  companies,  you  find  at  last 
that  no  greater  danger  is  to  be  apprehended  from 
a  large  than  a  small  company.  Each  is  managed 
by  men  of  about  the  same  stature,  weight,  ability 

36 


37 

and  sentiment,  and  the  resources  of  each  for  the 
attainment  of  its  wishes  or  protection  of  its  rights 
are  equal  to  the  other. 

A  prejudice  exists  against  railway  companies 
under  the  vague  impression  that  railway  stocks 
are  watered,  and  on  this  prejudice  rests  a  demand 
that  railway  rates  be  reduced.  In  other  words, 
it  is  said  the  public  is  forced  to  pay  higher  rates 
than  it  should,  in  order  that  dividends  may  be 
paid  on  watered  stock.  If  people  will  take  time 
to  learn  the  facts  bearing  on  this  question  they 
will  see  that  their  claim  is  unfounded.  What  are 
the  facts?  First,  70  per  cent,  of  all  American 
railway  stocks  yield  no  dividend  whatever.  Sec- 
ond, the  remaining  30  per  cent,  receives  less  than 
4  per  cent,  per  annum.  Third,  a  considerable 
part  of  this  4  per  cent,  is  not  earned  by  the  com- 
pany, but  is  paid  by  some  other  company,  under 
contracts  made  years  ago,  when  railways  were 
few  and  the  earnings  of  each  railway  were  greater 
than  now.  Fourth,  railway  stocks  are  bought 
and  sold  hourly  ;  in  many  cases  the  owner  of  to- 
day was  not  the  owner  of  yesterday.  Now,  bear- 

37 


38 

ing  in  mind  that  the  only  proper  objects  of  wrath 
on  the  part  of  the  public,  in  relation  to  watered 
stock,  are  the  men  who  issued  it — not  the  men 
who  have  since  bought  it — what  conclusion  can 
we  draw  from  the  foregoing  facts?  First,  that  as 
to  70  per  cent,  of  all  railway  stocks  there  is  no 
just  cause  of  complaint,  whether  watered  or  not, 
because  the  public  does  not  pay  dividends  on  that 
stock ;  second,  as  to  the  remaining  30  per  cent, 
on  which  less  than  4  per  cent,  dividends  are  paid, 
a  greater  part  of  it  is  paid,  not  because  it  is 
earned,  but  because  there  is  a  contract  which  re- 
quires it  to  be  paid.  And,  finally,  there  is  no 
certainty,  if  railway  rates  should  be  reduced,  and 
thereby  reduce  the  dividend  which  is  paid  on  one- 
thitd  of  the  railway  stocks  from  less  than  4  to  less 
than  3  or  less  than  2  per  cent.,  that  the  blow 
would  fall  on  those  guilty  of  issuing  watered  stock. 
Therefore  if  the  people  reduce  railway  rates  on 
account  of  watered  stock,  they  act  like  a  blind 
giant  who  swings  a  club  in  a  crowd  in  his  aim  to 
strike  one  man  by  whom  he  has  been  hurt. 


39 

Certain  railway  stocks  have  been  watered ; 
other  stocks  are  thought  to  be  watered,  but  in 
fact  are  not ;  still  other  stocks  are  not  watered, 
and  are  not  supposed  to  be.  Let  the  people  know 
the  situation  and  they  will  be  fair. 

First.  When  boomers  build  railways — not  to 
operate,  but  to  sell — they  proceed  as  stated  above. 
They  give  a  block  of  stocks  and  bonds  to  them- 
selves as  pay  for  building  a  railway.  The  amount 
of  these  stocks  and  bonds  has  no  reference  to 
the  cost  of  the  railway.  If  the  cost  of  con- 
struction and  equipment,  honestly  incurred,  ex- 
ceeds the  amount  of  stocks  and  bonds  issued, 
then  there  is  no  water  in  either  stocks  or  bonds. 
Such  a  mistake  on  the  part  of  the  boomers  has 
never  been  heard  of.  Usually  (always  so  far  as 
is  known)  they  issue  stocks  and  bonds  largely  in 
excess  of  the  cost  of  building  and  equipping  the 
road.  This  excess  is  water,  and  dirty  water  too. 
To  avoid  being  injured  by  it,  the  public  need  not 
rob  all  railway  companies  who  have  acted  in  good 
faith.  They  can  correct  the  evil  by  changing  the 
law,  which  permits  anybody  to  build  a  railroad 

39 


40 

anywhere,  and  make  the  building  of  a  railroad  a 
question  of  public  necessity,  to  be  determined  by 
disinterested  public  officials.  Township  roads, 
county  roads,  city  streets,  are  not  opened  through 
private  property  nor  cast  upon  the  public  for  re- 
pairs, except  on  petition  of  certain  persons  and 
their  necessity  approved  by  proper  public  officials. 
Next,  before  anybody  is  allowed  to  build  a  rail- 
way, he  should  file  in  some  public  department 
sworn  estimates  of  its  cost,  and  be  compelled, 
under  heavy  penalties,  to  limit  the  issue  of  stocks 
and  bonds  to  its  actual  cost.  Under  such  law  we 
would  have  no  watered  railway  stock. 

Second.  When  are  railway  stocks  supposed  to 
be  watered,  but  are  actually  not  watered?  1 
answer,  when  such  stocks  are  based  on  extensions 
and  additions  to  an  existing  railway,  and  are  paid 
for  at  cost  out  of  earnings. 

A  railway  is  built  from  A  to  B  ;  it  has  cost  ten 
million  dollars,  honestly  expended,  for  which  five 
million  in  bonds  and  five  million  in  stocks  have 
been  issued.  No  one  complains  of  that.  The 
railway  begins  operations,  increasing  traffic  de- 

40 


41 

mands  additional  tracks,  lands  and  cars.  Where 
shall  the  money  be  got  to  pay  for  these  necessary 
additions?  If  additional  bonds  are  offered  at  that 
early  stage,  they  will  sell  at  so  low  a  figure  that  it 
is  not  wise  to  make  the  attempt.  The  stockhold- 
ers, at  that  early  period,  are  not  disposed  to  sub- 
'  scribe  additional  stock  and  pay  in  more  money. 
If  they  were  willing  so  to  do,  the  most  rabid  enemy 
of  railways  would  not  complain  of  it.  What  then 
is  to  be  done?  The  public  clamors  for  increased 
facilities.  It  is  not  wise  to  sell  bonds  at  a  discount ; 
stockholders  are  not  able  or  willing  to  make  further 
advances  of  cash,  but  they  are  willing  to  do  some- 
thing else  which  enables  the  public  to  have  the 
increased  facilities  it  demands.  They  say  to  the 
Directors  of  the  company,  make  these  desired 
improvements  and  pay  for  them  out  of  surplus 
earnings  ;  meanwhile  we  will  ask  for  no  dividends. 
Five  or  ten  years  of  this  policy  continues,  and  at  the 
end  of  the  period,  ten  additional  million  dollars  have 
been  expended  and  the  railway  is  worth  double  what 
it  was  at  first.  The  stockholders  now  say,  we  will 
take  ten  millions  of  stock  to  represent  that  addi- 


42 

tional  value.  Can  stock  so  issued  be  called  watered 
stock?  Certainly  not.  Why?  The  public  needed 
the  additional  facilities  ;  after  they  were  made,  the 
capacity  of  the  road  to  do  business  and  accommo- 
date the  public  was  doubled,  and  the  value  of  the 
property  was  doubled.  If  stockholders  had  sub- 
scribed for  additional  shares  and  paid  for  it  monthly 
or  quarterly  as  the  work  of  extension  proceeded, 
nobody  would  have  thought  of  complaining  ;  or,  if 
stockholders  had  drawn  from  the  company  divi- 
dends, and  at  once  turned  those  dividends  back  to 
the  company  and  received  stock  for  it,  no  one 
would  have  complained.  What  difference  then,  is 
it  to  the  public,  whether  the  stockholder  draws 
dividends  and  converts  it  into  stock,  from  time  to 
time,  or  allows  all  surplus  earnings  to  be  applied 
to  the  work  of  extension  and  takes  his  share  of 
stock  for  the  cost  of  the  extensions,  when  the  same 
are  completed. 

I  will  admit  that  no  additional  stock  should  be 
issued  to  represent  an  increased  value  of  the 
railway,  caused  by  lapse  of  time  or  increase  of  busi- 
ness. The  public  has  a  right  to  share  that  increase 

42 


43 

with  the  stockholder.  The  right  to  issue  addi- 
tional stock  should  rest  on  the  fact  of  additional 
cash  put  into  the  property  to  increase  its  ability 
to  serve  the  public.  If  stock  issues  are  restricted 
to  these  limits,  the  people  will  not  complain  of 
watered  stock,  and  they  can  protect  themselves 
fully  in  this  respect,  and  innocent  stockholders  as 
well,  if  they  will,  under  heavy  penalty,  limit  the 
issue  of  bonds  and  stock  to  cost  of  the  railway  and 
additions  and  to  pay  debts  which  can  not  other- 
wise be  paid. 

This  brings  us  to  a  phase  of  the  question  not 
often  discussed,  yet  important  to  be  understood. 
It  is  clear  that  a  sound  policy  requires  that  stock 
and  bond  issues  of  a  railway  company  should  be 
limited  as  far  as  possible  to  cost  of  the  property, 
but  experience  has  shown  that  railway  companies, 
in  spite  of  good  management,  will  fall  in  debt. 
These  debts  must  be  paid  in  cash,  stock  or  bonds, 
hence  the  law  has  permitted  stock  and  bonds  to  be 
issued  in  payment  of  debts.  Large  amounts  of 
stock  have  been  issued  in  this  way.  A  railway 
company  becomes  insolvent  and  is  reorganized. 

43 


44 

Its  old  stockholders  cling  to  the  faith  that  some 
day  in  the  future,  the  stock  will  have  value,  hence 
they  want  to  be  represented  in  the  new  company. 
For  a  better  reason,  bondholders  whose  interest 
for  years  has  not  been  paid,  want  something  to 
represent  their  unpaid  interest,  and  are  entitled  to 
a  place  ahead  of  stockholders,  and  they  receive 
income  bonds  or  preferred  stock  in  payment  of 
their  unpaid  interest.  Thus  a  reorganized  com- 
pany begins  its  career  with  a  large  amount  of 
stock,  and  the  suspicion  of  the  public  is  aroused 
against  it.  The  cases  are  exceptional  and  should 
receive  particular  treatment.  To  compel  all  rail- 
road companies  to  reduce  their  rates  because  some 
companies  have  issued  fictitious  stock,  and  others 
have  issued  stock  in  payment  of  debts,  would  be 
like  putting  a  whole  town  in  jail  because  one  in- 
habitant was  a  thief.  The  newspaper  editor, 
the  platform  lecturer,  the  State  or  National  law 
maker,  who,  in  general  terms,  denounces  railway 
companies  for  issuing  watered  stock,  is  guilty  of 
gross  calumny  against  the  railways  of  the  United 
States,  and  does  great  wrong  to  hundreds  of 

44 


45 

thousands  of  innocent  people.  We  do  not  de- 
nounce all  editors  because  some  are  blackmailers  ; 
we  do  not  condemn  all  lecturers  because  a  few 
are  ignorant  and  rash ;  we  do  not  call  all  law 
makers  criminals  because  some  are  bribe  takers  ; 
we  do  not  say  the  human  race  are  assassins  be- 
•cause  some  of  them  are  murderers.  We  should 
not  charge  railway  companies  with  swindling  the- 
public  because  a  few  companies  have  issued  ficti- 
tious stock.  Let  there  be  light  on  this  subject, 
and  the  people  will  be  just  to  railway  companies. 
Hostility  to  railway  companies  exists  mainly 
because  they  do  not  give  uniform  rates  to  the 
public,  and  sometimes  charge  more  for  a  short 
than  a  longer  haul  in  the  same  direction.  In 
other  words,  it  is  said  they  favor  certain  shippers 
at  the  expense  of  others.  Railway  companies 
derive  all  their  powers  from  the  public  ;  they  are 
created  for  the  purpose  of  serving  the  public, 
therefore  it  seems  odious  that  they  should  give 
lower  rates  to  one  part  of  the  public  than  to 
another.  Laws  are  enacted  to  prevent  this  dis- 
crimination, and  require  rates  to  be  alike  to  all. 

45 


46 

The  companies  evade  these  laws  by  charging 
uniform  rates  and  giving  a  portion  back  to  fa- 
vored shippers  by  way  of  rebates,  drawbacks 
and  other  devices.  Then  other  laws  are  enacted 
to  prevent  the  companies  from  giving  back  any 
portion  of  the  rate,  by  any  kind  of  payment  or 
favor,  and  these  laws  in  turn  are  disobeyed. 
Every  one  knows  this  to  be  the  situation  in 
respect  to  every  railway  company,  the  result  be- 
ing that  all  companies  are  conspicuous,  persist- 
ent, defiant  law  breakers.  No  wonder  they  are 
scourged  by  juries,  law  makers,  tax  commission- 
ers and  public  opinion.  Why  then  do  railway 
companies  persist  in  a  course  which  makes  them 
all  criminals  and  brings  the  majority  of  railways 
to  bankruptcy  ? 

Public  opinion  rests  on  the  single  fact  that  rail- 
way companies  are  law  breakers ;  no  inquiry  is 
made  why  railway  managers  break  the  law,  or 
whether  the  law  is  just.  Possibly  an  investiga- 
tion will  show  that  law  makers  as  well  as  law 
breakers  are  at  fault. 


47 

Although  the  people  give  corporate  life  and 
power  to  railway  companies,  they  do  not  furnish 
the  money  to  build,  equip  and  maintain  railways. 
This  money  is  furnished  by  private  individuals. 
A  railway,  therefore,  is  private  property  devoted 
to  a  public  use.  Nothing  can  be  more  just  than 
that  this  private  property  devoted  to  a  public  use 
should  be  allowed  to  yield  some  profit  to  its  own- 
ers, and  at  least  to  protect  itself  from  insolvency. 
This  proposition  is  not  fully  nor  fairly  met  by  the 
counter  proposition  that  railway  charges  should 
be  uniform  to  the  public,  unless  a  reasonable 
interpretation  is  given  to  the  phrase  "  uniform 
charges."  What  then  are  the  rights  of  the  public 
in  respect  to  a  railway  ?  What  is  meant  by  uni- 
form charges  ?  What  are  the  rights  of  a  railway 
company  in  respect  to  earning  money  ? 

Take  the  case  of  a  railway,  built  from  Chicago 
to  the  seaboard.  The  people  of  Illinois,  Indiana 
or  Michigan,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania  or  New  York, 
and  of  New  Jersey  have  united  in  giving  corporate 
life  and  powers  to  this  railway  company.  Each 
State  expects  to  be  benefited  by  the  existence  of 

47 


48 

the  railway.  Next,  there  are  many  cities,  towns 
and  hamlets  in  each  State,  along  the  line  of  this 
railway.  Some  of  these  places  enjoy  the  advan- 
tage of  competing  railway  or  lake  or  river  service  ; 
others  have  not  this  advantage.  None  of  these 
places  are  exactly  alike  in  the  conditions  of  labor, 
materials,  workmen  or  capital.  The  situation  is 
further  complicated  by  the  existence  of .  several 
other  railways  built  from  Chicago  to  New  York, 
each  on  a  different  route,  each  under  conditions 
different  from  either  of  its  rivals.  The  laws  of 
the  different  States  between  Chicago  and  the  sea- 
board limit  the  rate  which  railway  companies  may 
charge  for  their  services ;  that  is,  they  prescribe 
the  rriaximum  rate.  None  of  these  States  fix  a 
minimum  rate  ;  the  theory  of  the  law  on  this  point 
is,  that  railway  companies  might  charge  too  high 
a  rate  if  not  restricted,  but  there  is  no  danger  of 
their  charging  too  low  a  rate ;  hence,  while  the 
law  prescribes  a  maximum  rate,  it  does  not  pre- 
scribe a  minimum  rate. 

The  omission  of  law  to  fix  a  minimum  rate  jus- 
tifies the  public  in  assuming  it  is  at  liberty  to  get 


49 

as  low  rates  as  it  can,  and  justifies  the  companies 
in  assuming  that  they  may  lower  rates  as  much 
as  they  please.  Thus  the  public  gets  the  benefit 
of  competition,  which  every  one  concedes  it  has  a 
right  to  get.  But  railway  companies  naturally 
wish  to  get  all  they  can,  and  never  reduce  the 
rate  except  under  compulsion.  Hence,  they  main- 
tain rates  where  they  have  no  competition,  and 
lower  rates  where  they  have  competition. 

The  right  of  the  public  to  get  as  low  rates  as  it 
can  applies  to  every  station  on  a  railway ;  and  in- 
asmuch as  the  conditions  which  induce  a  railway 
company  to  lower  its  rates  are  not  the  same  at  all 
stations,  it  is  impossible  that  rates  should  be  uni- 
form at  all  stations.  Where  competition  exists, 
the  public,  in  the  exercise  of  its  undoubted  right, 
will  secure  lower  rates  than  at  points  where  there 
is  no  competition.  To  force  a  railway  to  make  a 
uniform  rate  at  all  stations,  would  be  to  give  to 
some  communities  advantages  to  which  they  are 
not  entitled,  and  to  deprive  other  communities  of 
advantages  they  have  rightfully  acquired.  It  is 
not  the  duty,  nor  is  it  in  the  power  of  a  railway 

(4)  49 


50 
\ 

company  to  equalize  conditions  between  different 
communities.  The  right  of  a  railway  company  to 
lower  its  rates  at  competitive  points  is  inseparable 
from  the  right  of  the  public  to  get  as  low  rates  as 
it  can.  And  if  it  be  conceded  that  in  the  absence 
of  law  fixing  a  minimum  rate  which  a  railway  may 
charge,  the  public  has  a  right  to  as  low  rates  as  it 
can  get,  the  conclusion  is  inevitable  that  a  railway 
company  which  charges  different  rates  at  different 
stations  is  not  guilty  of  discrimination. 

This  argument  does  not  apply  to  different 
patrons  at  the  same  station.  The  rights  of  all 
members  of  the  public  at  any  given  point  are 
identical.  If  rates  are  lowered  to  one  they  should 
be  lowered  to  all.  Though  one  patron  ships  ten 
times  as  much  at  one  station  as  another  patron, 
the  rights  of  the  public  at  that  station  are  the 
same,  and  what  the  railway  does  for  one  it  should 
do  for  all. 

This  right  of  the  public  to  have  as  low  rates  as 
it  can  get  is  the  source  of  all  complaints  against 
railways  on  account  of  discrimination.  At  com- 
petitive points  the  railway  company  lowers  the 

50 


rate  under  compulsion  ;  it  makes  the  best  bargain 
it  can,  and  the  result  is  all  shippers  are  not  served 
alike.  In  all  these  cases  of  so-called  discrimina- 
tion, whether  at  competitive  or  non-competitive 
points,  the  railway  traffic  manager  acts  precisely 
as  the  merchant  and  manufacturer  does  under 
'  like  circumstances.  He  reduces  the  price  to  those 
who  buy  largely ;  he  sells  at  little  or  no  profit, 
rather  than  lose  a  customer. 

The  public  wishes  to  have  as  low  rates  as  it 
can  get;  it  knows  the  more  railways  are  built  the 
lower  will  be  the  rates ;  therefore  it  wishes  as 
many  railways  as  can  be  built.  At  this  point  the 
public  stops  wishing  and  thinking,  and  begins  to 
smite  railways  because  of  discrimination.  It  fails 
to  see  that  competition  and  discrimination  are  in- 
terchangeable terms.  It  passes  laws  to  prevent 
discrimination,  and  with  incredible  folly  passes 
other  laws  forbidding  railway  companies  to  do  the 
only  thing  that  can  prevent  discrimination,  to  wit, 
make  arrangements  between  themselves  to  main- 
tain uniform  rates  and  compensate  each  other  by 
division  of  traffic  or  earnings,  a  subject  in  which 


52 

the   public   has   no    conceivable    interest   what- 
ever. 

Why  are  the  words  "  competition  "  and  "  dis- 
crimination" interchangeable  terms  ?  Competi- 
tion is  a  condition  resulting  from  the  presence  of 
two  or  more  rival  railway  lines.  Discrimination 
is  a  condition  under  which  different  individuals  in 
the  same  community  do  not  get  the  same  rates 
from  railway  companies;  neither  one,  two  or 
three  of  the  rival  lines  can  do  all  the  business  at 
the  competitive  point ;  each  line  will  and  must  get 
a  share  of  the  business.  The  conditions  under 
which  the  various  rival  lines  are  maintained  and 
operated  are  not  alike 'in  any  two  cases.  There- 
fore the  rates  they  can  each  afford  to  accept  are  not 
the  same  in  any  two  cases.  And  inasmuch  as  no 
single  company  can  do  all  the  business,  leaving 
the  others  to  starve,  a  different  scale  of  rates 
charged  by  each  company  is  the  inevitable  result. 
Thus  we  find  discrimination  to  be  the  inevitable 
concomitant  of  competition  ;  for  the  result  to  the 
public  is  precisely  the  same,  whether  one  railway 
company  gives  a  different  rate  to  each  of  its 

52 


53 

patrons,  or  whether  half  a  dozen  different  com- 
panies give  different  rates  to  the  public.  The  result 
in  either  case  is  that  all  shippers  at  competitive 
points  are  not  treated  alike. 

Certain  railways  .can  afford  to  accept  a  less  rate 
than  other  less  favored  lines.  The  less  favored 
'lines  must  have  a  portion  of  the  traffic,  for  small 
profit  is  better  than  none.  Here  begins  scramble 
for  traffic  and  demoralization  of  rates.  No  rail- 
way company  will  quietly  lie  down  and  die. 
Neither  public  opinion  or  penal  statutes  will  pre- 
vent its  managers  from  trying  to  get  traffic  and 
continue  to  do  business.  In  this  pell-mell  scram- 
ble for  traffic  the  public  is  robbed  and  the  railway 
companies  are  ruined.  The  business  of  large  ship- 
pers is  sought  after  and  secured  at  any  price. 
Smaller  shippers  do  not  get  as  good  rates  as  the 
larger,  and  the  result  is  that  small  dealers  are 
driven  out  of  business  and  larger  dealers  increase 
their  power  and  wealth.  Even  the  large  dealer  is 
not  wholly  at  fault  in  this  carnival  of  ruin.  The 
competition  which  affects  the  railways  affects  the 
different  merchants  and  manufacturers.  Each 


53 


54 

must  meet  his  rival  in  the  field  of  trade  on  equal 
terms  and  get  the  lowest  possible  rate  for  trans- 
portation. Unrestrained  competition  crushes  and 
grinds  as  remorselessly  as  the  wheels  of  Jugger- 
naut. 

If  railway  companies  were  permitted  to  make 
arrangements  with  each  other  for  division  of  traffic 
or  earnings,  the  destructive  results  of  competition 
could  be  largely  obviated.  Hitherto  the  public 
mind  has  associated  such  arrangements  with  the 
idea  of  pools  and  monopolies,  and  forbidden  rail- 
way companies  to  make  them  under  heavy  pen- 
alties. Nine  years  ago  Congress  prohibited  pool- 
ing of  railway  earnings  or  tonnage,  thinking 
thereby  to  secure  unrestricted  competition  and 
prevent  discrimination.  It  did  not  understand  that 
unrestricted  competition  meant  unlimited  discrim- 
ination. The  country  has  never  known  such  de- 
moralization of  railway  rates,  dissatisfaction  of 
shippers  and  bankruptcy  of  railway  companies  as 
since  the  passage  of  the  interstate  commerce  law. 

If  railway  companies  were  permitted  to  make 
and  enforce  agreements  among  themselves  rela- 

54 


55 

tive  to  a  division  of  earnings  or  traffic,  they 
could  secure  uniformity  and  stability  of  rates,  and 
the  public  would  be  entirely  safe  against  exorbitant 
rates.  Each  State  controls  the  maximum  rate 
which  a  railway  company  may  charge  for  the 
transportation  of  passengers  and  freight.  That 
maximum  rate  can  be  lowered  at  the  will  of  every 
Legislature.  If  railway  companies  should  agree 
upon  a  rate  which  the  public  deems  unreasona- 
ble, the  remedy  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Legislature 
to  reduce  the  maximum.  Whatever  rate  the  law 
permits  to  be  charged  is  presumed  to  be  reason- 
able, and  no  harm  can  come  to  the  people  if  rail- 
way companies  are  permitted  to  agree  upon  a  rate 
which  is  equal  to  or  less  than  the  rate  which  the 
law  declares  reasonable.  If  railway  earnings 
become  too  large  under  the  operation  of  pooling 
contracts,  let  the  maximum  rate  be  further 
lowered,  and  railway  earnings  will  at  once  di- 
minish. 

A  railway  pool  differs  from  a  pool  of  manufac- 
turers or  producers  in  this :  The  public  can  not 
control  the  price  which  private  persons  may  charge 

55 


56 

for  what  they  produce,  hence  a  pool  or  monopoly 
of  producers  may  force  prices  up  to  an  extravagant 
figure ;  but  the  public  does  and  always  will  control 
the  price  of  transportation,  and  no  railway  com- 
pany will  dare  to  charge  above  the  maximum  rate 
which  is  fixed  by  law.  Many  people  think  de- 
moralization of  rates  and  bankruptcy  of  railways 
would  cease  if  railway  traffic  managers  were  hon- 
est and  wise.  They  do  not  understand  the  situa- 
tion. First,  while  a  majority  of  traffic  managers 
are  both  honest  and  wise,  all  are  not  so,  and  one 
foolish,  dishonest  traffic  manager  can  bring  con- 
fusion to  the  whole  situation.  Second,  if  all  were 
honest  and  wise,  they  could  do  nothing  without 
concert  of  action,  and  this  concert  of  action  is  for- 
bidden by  law.  Railway  companies  are,  there- 
fore, by  public  opinion  and  statute  law  condemned 
to  destruction  and  forbidden  to  make  any  effort  to 
save  themselves.  The  situation  is  precisely  as  it 
would  be  if  a  community,  made  up  of  wise  and 
ignorant,  virtuous  and  vicious,  honest  and  dis- 
honest people,  were  by  a  higher  power  prevented 
from  passing  laws  and  establishing  courts  for  mu- 

56 


57 

tual  protection,  and  thus  left  to  prey  upon  each 
other,  like  savages  in  a  wilderness.  Any  kind  of 
despotism  is  more  tolerable  than  such  a  state. 

It  is  noted  with  pleasure  that  public  opinion  is 
changing  on  the  subject  of  railway  pools.  Those 
who  are  capable  of  learning  facts,  and  can  under- 
stand the  truth  which  those  facts  convey,  are  no 
longer  opposed  to  a  law  which  will  allow  railway 
companies  to  make  reasonable  contracts  with  each 
other  for  division  of  traffic  or  earnings.  The 
ignorance  of  law-makers  on  this  subject  has  caused 
stupendous  disaster  to  individual  and  corporate 
fortunes.  It  is  hoped  that  the  dawning  of  a  better 
day  is  at  hand. 

Railway  companies  being  created  by  law  and 
regulated  by  law,  their  officers  and  employes  are 
in  constant  touch  with  servants  of  the  people  who 
make,  interpret  and  enforce  the  law.  The  temp- 
tation is  great  to  give  and  receive  money,  in  mat- 
ters wherein  the  interests  of  the  railways  are  in 
conflict  with  those  of  the  public.  Some  railway 
managers  are  willing  to  pay  the  price,  and  some 
officials  are  willing  to  betray  the  public.  Happily, 

57 


58 

these  are  in  the  minority.  Under  our  modern 
system  of  law,  which  forbids  the  granting  of  cor- 
porate privilege  by  special  statute,  the  railway 
companies  are  seldom  in  legislative  halls  except 
under  compulsion,  to  try  to  protect  themselves 
against  threatened  injury. 

There  are  men  who  make  a  living  by  work  in 
shops,  fields  and  mines.  There  are  other  men 
who  make  a  living  by  working  legislative  bodies. 
They  gather  at  the  State  Capitol  as  buzzards 
gather  about  a  carcass.  Usually  they  have  served 
one  or  two  terms  in  a  Legislature,  and  learned  in 
the  mysteries  of  law  making.  They  soon  know 
what  members  are  there  to  serve  the  public,  and 
who  are  there  to  serve  themselves.  This  is  fact 
number  one.  The  next  factor  on  which  they 
count  is  the  fear  of  corporation  officials  that  laws 
will  be  enacted  increasing  the  burdens  on  corpora- 
tions. The  third  stage  is  the  introduction  of  bills 
to  increase  taxes,  impose  severe  regulations  or  re 
duce  income  of  corporations.  This  blackmailing 
process  is  aimed  at  all  manner  of  corporations, 
railway,  express,  sleeping  car,  telegraph,  insur- 

58 


59 

ance  and  loan  associations.  Sometimes  the  officers 
of  these  corporations  are  cowards  and  think  it 
necessary  to  pay  promptly  the  ransom  demanded 
by  legislative  brigands  ;  others  whom  long  experi- 
ence in  the  business  has  made  familiar  with  these 
operations,  pay  the  tribute  as  the  easiest  way  out 
of  trouble  and  regard  the  exaction  as  one  of  the 
elements  of  modern  civilization  ;  a  third  class 
have  faith  in  the  principles  of  honesty,  trust  to 
the  people  for  fair  play,  and  by  proper  presenta- 
tion of  arguments  and  facts,  defy  the  blackmailers 
and  defeat  their  schemes.  Corporation  officials 
who  act  in  this  way  seldom  fail  to  protect  the 
companies  they  represent  to  the  full  extent  to 
which  they  are  entitled  to  protection,  but  as  long 
as  some  officials  are  willing  to  pay  tribute,  so  long 
the  system  of  legislative  corruption  continues,  and 
all  railway  companies  are  denounced  by  the  people 
as  partners  in  the  crime.  The  same  influences, 
but  to  a  very  limited  extent,  prevail  in  the  action 
of  Tax  Commissioners.  Prosecuting  attorneys, 
sheriffs,  auditors  and  coroners  are  in  position  to 
help  or  hurt  a  railway  company.  Their  opera- 

59 


6o 

tions  are  mainly  characterized  by  a  sense  of  jus- 
tice, but  often  they  are  willing  to  give  and  receive. 

In  presenting  these  facts  to  the  young  men 
before  me,  many  of  whom  will  probably  some  day 
be  called  to  railway  service,  and  all  of  whom  wish 
to  become  upright  citizens,  I  wish  to  emphasize 
the  following  truths  : 

Railway  employes  are,  in  a  certain  sense,  serv- 
ants of  the  public  ;  the  manner  in  which  they  dis- 
charge their  duty  has  much  to  do  with  the  welfare 
of  the  public.  Let  that  duty  be  performed  with 
courage,  but  always  in  the  desire  to  do  justice,  to 
the  public,  no  less  than  the  company  they  serve. 
When  the  public  learns  that  railway  officers  and 
employes  are  animated  by  this  sense  of  duty  and 
of  justice,  prejudice  against  railways  will  disap- 
pear; the  burdens  which  are  laid  upon  them  will 
be  reasonable;  the  fetters  which  bind  them  to 
disaster  will  be  removed. 


60 


II. 


THE  PAST,  PRESENT  AND  FUTURE 
OF  AMERICAN  RAILWAYS. 


MELVILLE  E.  INGALLS. 


IN  the  year  1830  the  first  complete  railway  was 
put  in  operation.  There  had  been  many  ex- 
periments leading  up  to  this  ;  in  fact,  in  the 
world's  history,  all  great  improvements  or  inven- 
tions do  not  appear  at  once,  but  are  attained  by 
gradual  steps  and  often  appear  in  different  places 
and  through  different  persons,  as  though  the  idea 
had  filled  the  air,  as  it  were,  and  different  people 
commenced  to  work  on  the  same  line.  The  world 
was  ready  at  that  time  for  something  new.  For 
the  century  ending  with  the  year  1815  and  the 
great  and  decisive  battle  of  Waterloo,  the  civilized 

61 


world  had  been  in  a  constant  strife.  Hardly  a 
year  had  passed  in  which  one  or  more  of  the  great 
nations  of  Europe  were  not  at  war,  and  for  much 
of  the  time  all  of  them.  The  governments  had 
been  managed  for  the  benefit  of  the  few ;  the  con- 
dition of  the  common  people  had  been  almost 
hopeless  ;  every  dollar  that  could  be  wrung  from 
them  by  the  most  onerous  taxation  in  the  world 
had  been  used  to  build  up  armies  and  navies  with 
which  to  fight.  So  oppressive  was  this  system 
that  in  1789  the  French  revolution  broke  out  with 
its  terrors.  The  people  became  like  some  wild 
animal  liberated  from  his  cage,  and,  knowing 
nothing  of  how  to  use  that  liberty,  simply  struck 
around  in  their  fierce  anger  and  destroyed  what- 
ever came  in  their  way.  Wise  men,  timid  men, 
lovers  of  liberty,  became  frightened  and  disgusted. 
Reaction  came,  and  on  it  Napoleon  climbed  to 
power.  He  soon  lost  his  head  and  endeavored 
to  rule  the  world,  and  the  contest  to  crush  him 
lasted  for  a  score  of  years.  In  those  years  there 
was  no  opportunity  for  industrial  improvement. 
No  one  attempted  to  accomplish  anything  except 

62 


3 

to  fight  or  to  provide  for  the  necessaries  of  exist- 
ence. When  finally,  in  1815,  peace  came  to  the 
civilized  world,  it  dawned  upon  nations  poor,  weak 
and  wounded.  The  condition  of  the  poor  was  de- 
plorable, and  that  of  the  rich  not  much  better. 
The  facilities  of  communication,  even  in  countries 
of  the  highest  civilization,  at  that  time  were  very 
limited.  For  instance,  the  news  of  the  battle  of 
Waterloo  did  not  reach  London  until  three  days 
afterwards,  and  it  was  then  printed  in  the  news- 
papers and  sent  over  England  in  mail  coaches  that 
ran  night  and  day,  at  the  rate  of  seven  or  eight 
miles  per  hour. 

In  the  few  years  of  rest  from  war,  between  1815 
and  1830,  which  they  had  enjoyed,  the  people  had 
done  some  work,  and  more  thinking.  In  France 
the  Bourbons  with  their  despotic  notions  were 
driven  out,  and  in  England  the  people  secured  the 
"reform  bill/'  so-called,  and  it  was  beginning  to 
be  understood  all  over  the  civilized  world  that  gov- 
ernments were  for  the  people  and  the  divine  right 
of  kings  to  oppress  and  misgovern  was  disappear- 
ing. Slowly,  as  the  nations  began  to  recover  from 

63 


4 

their  exhaustion,  they  devoted  their  time  and  en- 
ergies to  industrial  improvement.  The  men  in 
active  life  in  1815  knew  nothing  but  war  and  its 
adjuncts.  In  1830  a  new  generation  was  upon 
the  stage,  ready  for  another  purpose.  George 
Stephenson's  railway  was  completed  and  civiliza- 
tion was  ready  to  take  it  up  and  carry  his  ideas 
forward  and  beyond  even  his  fondest  dreams.  In 
sixty-seven  years  this  weakling  has  grown  to  be 
a  o;iant  of  immense  proportions,  and  has  added 
vastly  to  the  comfort  and  happiness  of  mankind. 
In  1830,  when  the  first  railway  was  opened,  travel 
over  any  of  the  civilized  countries  of  the  world 
was  slow  and  wearisome.  Communities  which 
to-day  are  neighbors,  then  knew  but  little  of  each 
other.  England  was  the  richest  of  the  nations 
and  the  highest  in  civilization,  and  yet  a  writer  at 
about  that  time,  describing  its  internal  affairs, 
says,  "  Each  little  community  set  apart  from  its 
fellows,  following  its  own  customs,  cherishing  its 
own  prejudices,  feeding  its  own  traditions,  speak- 
ing in  a  dialect  which  men  from  a  distance  failed 
to  understand ;  a  stranger  was  ipso  facto  an 

64 


5 

enemy."  In  our  own  country  at  this  time  civili- 
zation was  even  more  backward.  The  people  had 
settled  and  clustered  along  the  coast  and  the  great 
lakes  and  rivers,  but  the  means  of  communication 
were  slow  and  wearisome.  At  this  time  came  the 
railway,  and  its  development  has  been  one  of  the 
greatest  industrial  revolutions  in  the  world's  his- 
tory. One  writer  truly  says,  "It  has  enabled 
men  from  different  sections  to  meet  freely,  to  learn 
how  little  there  is  on  either  side  to  hate  and  how 
much  to  love  ;  ancient  prejudices  melt  away  by 
the  fuller  knowledge  gained  from  travel  and  ac- 
quaintance ;  each  year  as  men  associate  with  each 
other  and  travel,  the  unity  of  the  people  becomes 
more  and  more  perfect." 

While  railways  have  benefited  Europe  and  all 
civilized  nations  they  have  proved  more  of  a  bless- 
ing to  America  on  account  of  its  great  distances. 
American  genius  also  seems  to  be  peculiarly 
adapted  to  the  science  of  transportation  and  rail- 
roading. We  have  worked  out  in  this  country  the 
most  perfect  system  of  transportation  known  on 
earth.  In  England  the  railways  have  had  the 

65 


6 

benefit  of  unlimited  capital,  and  in  some  respects 
may  be  in  advance  of  ours.  The  journeys  there 
for  short  distances  are  more  comfortable,  but  their 
system,  if  applied  to  our  long  lines,  would  be  an 
utter  failure.  A  trip  to-day  from  New  York  to 
Chicago  is  not  a  thing  to  be  dreaded,  but  a  pleasure 
to  be  anticipated.  With  the  trains  and  service, 
you  have  (in  the  parlance  of  railway  advertising) 
"all  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  home."  The 
3, 500  miles  between  New  York  and  San  Francisco 
are  covered  in  less  than  five  days,  with  ease ;  so 
that  even  our  invalids  can  avail  themselves  of  the 
different  climates  and  not  grow  weary  with  the 
journey.  The  expense  of  a  journey  to-day  is  not 
one-fifth  of  what  it  was  in  the  old  days  of  stage- 
coaching,  saying  nothing  about  time  and  comfort. 
Beyond  any  human  calculation,  however,  is  the 
benefit  derived  from  association  and  the  facilities 
of  communication  between  different  sections  of  the 
same  country.  It  has  enabled  the  American  Re- 
public to  grow  beyond  any  thought  or  prediction 
of  its  founders,  and  has  rendered  distant  sections 
homogeneous  to  each  other  which  otherwise  would 

66 


7 

have  been  distant  and  unknown  countries.  It  is 
hard  to  realize  what  would  have  happened  in  this 
country  of  ours  if  the  railway  systems  had  not 
been  perfected.  The  late  William  F.  Reynolds, 
of  this  city  of  Lafayette,  once  told  me  that  the 
hardest  day's  work  he  ever  did  was  making  a  trip 
from  Lebanon  to  Thorntown.  To-day,  on  trains 
of  the  Big  Four,  you  make  the  journey  in  ten  min- 
utes. % 

More,  however,  than  in  the  facilities  of  travel  has 
been  the  growth  of  the  freight  traffic  of  the  various 
systems.  The  statistics  of  our  railways  are  prob- 
ably known  to  almost  every  schoolboy  in  the  land, 
yet  it  is  well  on  an  occasion  like  this,  when  we 
have  spoken  of  the  birth  of  the  enterprise,  to  al- 
lude to  and  place  before  your  eyes  its  present 
gigantic  stature,  so  that  you  may  have  the  picture 
more  vividly  before  you.  The  latest  official  fig- 
ures which  we  have  are  those  for  the  year  ending 
June  3<Dth,  1896,  and  they  show  such  marvelous 
proportions  that  I  can  not  forbear  placing  them 
before  you.  The  industrial  enterprise  that  started 
a  half  century  or  more  ago,  by  the  aid  of  a  few 


8 

enthusiasts  who  were  themselves  doubtful  of  its 
success,  has  now  grown  to  fabulous  size  ;  182,776 
miles  of  main  track ;  240,000  miles  of  all  tracks. 
The  little  locomotive  that  George  Stephenson  ran 
from  Manchester  to  Liverpool  is  now  represented 
in  these  United  States  by  35,950  monster  ma- 
chines ;  i,  297,649  cars  are  in  service;  511,772,737 
passengers  were  carried  in  the  year  in  question  ; 
765,891,385  tons  of  freight  were  handled;  the 
number  of  tons  of  freight  carried  one  mile  was 
95,328,360,278.  These  figures  are  almost  beyond 
the  conception  of  the  human  mind ;  and  all  this 
freight  was  moved  at  an  average  charge  of  four- 
fifths  of  one  cent  per  ton  per  mile.  Think  of  it ! 
A  ton  of  freight  hauled  one  mile  at  a  charge  of 
four-fifths  of  a  cent.  The  gross  earnings  of  all 
the  railways  were  $1,150,169,376.  The  number 
of  employes  upon  the  payrolls  of  the  companies 
was  826,620.  If  you  take  into  consideration  those 
not  upon  the  payrolls  but  deriving  their  support 
from  the  railways,  and  consider  also  the  manu- 
facturers of  supplies  used  by  the  railways,  you 
will  probably  thribble  this  number.  In  other 

68 


9 

words,  an  army  of  more  than  2,000, ooo  of  men 
are  engaged  in  railway  business,  and  more  than 
10,000,000  of  our  population  are  supported  by  this 
industry. 

I  have  said  that  it  cost  four-fifths  of  a  cent  per 
ton  per  mile  to  handle  this  immense  amount  of 
freight,  but  this  is  the  average  charge.  The  great 
products  of  the  country,  like  flour,  corn,  wheat, 
coal  and  iron,  are  handled  for  less  than  one-half 
this  charge,  and  this  low  cost  has  enabled  this 
country  to  develop  its  manufactories  and  its  com- 
merce, until  it  stands  foremost  among  the  civil- 
ized nations  of  the  earth.  One  hundred  and 
ninety-one  million  tons  of  coal  were  mined  and 
moved  by  the  railways  in  this  country  last 
year.  With  the  close  of  the  century  we  shall 
stand  undoubtedly  first  in  the  world  in  the 
mining  of  coal,  the  production  of  pig  iron,  the 
manufacture  of  flour  and  the  production  of  wheat 
and  corn.  The  world  stands  aghast  at  our  growth, 
and  the  great  factor  in  such  increase  has  been  the 
railways.  We  should  have  had  even  greater  de- 
velopment, had  it  not  been  for  unfortunate  legis- 

69 


10 

lation  and  hostility  to  railway  corporations,  which, 
in  the  last  few  years,  has  retarded  their  develop- 
ment. The  cost  of  all  the  railways  in  this  country 
has  been  $10,566,865,771.  The  net  income  from 
their  operation  last  year,  in  the  aggregate,  was 
only  about  $377,000,000,  or  about  3^  per  cent, 
on  their  cost.  Many  of  the  lines  paid  more  than 
this,  but  a  vast  number  nothing;  in  fact,  about 
one-fifth  of  all  the  railway  mileage  of  the  country 
last  year  was  in  bankruptcy,  and  managed  by  re- 
ceivers appointed  by  the  courts.  Legislatures, 
National  and  State,  and  city  governments  nearly 
everywhere,  seem  to  be  hostile  to  these  great 
enterprises. 

I  propose  in  the  time  I  have  here  to  give,  briefly, 
a  history  of  the  causes,  which  in  my  judgment 
have  led  up  to  this  hostility  and  what  is  necessary 
to  be  done  to  change  it.  In  the  beginning  of  rail- 
way development  capital  was  scarce  and  but  few 
people  were  willing  to  invest  in  such  a  hazardous 
business,  and  the  need  of  the  communities  was  so 
great  that  any  extraordinary  concession  asked  for 
was  quickly  given.  Even  then,  the  first  pro- 


70 


II 

moter-s  lost  nearly  all  of  their  investment.  But 
few  of  the  great  trunk  lines  which  were  con- 
structed previous  to  1855  were  enabled  to  go 
through  the  panic  of  1857  without  bankruptcy; 
stocks  of  some  of  the  best  roads  in  the  land,  and 
which  to-day  are  paying  large  dividends,  went 
down  to  five  and  ten  cents  on  the  dollar,  and 
many  of  them  were  entirely  wiped  out  by  fore- 
closure proceedings.  With  the  close  of  the  war 
in  1865  a  new  and  enormous  development  com- 
menced in  railway  building,  and  there  came  to 
the  front  then  a  practically  new  class  of  business 
men  known  as  railway  promoters.  It  was  no  un- 
usual thing  for  these  men  to  take  contracts  for 
building  hundreds  or  even  thousands  of  miles  of 
railway.  Their  plan  was  to  procure  the  most 
favorable  charters  from  the  States  or  the  Govern- 
ment, to  obtain  large  concessions  in  lands  along 
the  line,  then  organize  a  company,  issue  as  many 
bonds  per  mile  and  as  much  stock  as  they  thought 
the  public  would  take,  obtain  from  cities  and 
towns  as  large  subsidies  as  possible  in  money  and 
promises ;  then  make  contracts  with  themselves 


UNIVERSITY 

OF 


12 

by  which  they  received  all  the  lands,  subsidies, 
bonds  and  stock,  for  constructing  the  railway. 
They  constructed  it  as  cheaply  as  possible  ;  they 
sold  the  lands  for  the  best  price  obtainable  ;  sold  the 
bonds  and  stocks  to  the  public  ;  and  then  marched 
on  to  take  other  contracts  and  conquer  other  lands. 
When  the  day  of  reckoning  came,  as  it  was  bound 
to,  the  public  found  themselves  the  owners  of 
bonds  upon  which  the  interest  could  not  be  paid ; 
the  communities  found  themselves  with  a  poor 
railway  in  which  they  had  no  direct  pecuniary 
interest ;  they  saw  the  contractors  with  enormous 
fortunes,  and  they  concluded  that  they  had  been 
cheated  and  robbed.  Hence,  through  their  Legis- 
latures and  city  and  town  governments,  they  be- 
gan to  get  back  at  the  railways  by  imposing 
onerous  taxes  and  obligations  and  by  attempting 
to  fix  rates  of  fare  and  freight  by  legislation.  This 
was  the  start  of  the  so-called  "Granger  legisla- 
tion "  in  the  /o's.  This  legislation  went  through 
the  various  States  and  finally,  in  1886,  Congress 
passed  the  Interstate  Commerce  Law,  and  since 
that  year  the  difficulties  have  been  more  with 


72 


13 

reference  to  that  law  than  with  State  laws.  That 
law  practically  prohibited  contracts  among  rail- 
ways for  the  maintenance  of  tariffs ;  or,  to  be  ex- 
act, it  prohibited  pooling,  which  is  an  agreement 
between  two  or  more  competing  lines  to  divide 
the  business  in  certain  proportions ;  it  being  the 
judgment  of  railway  managers  then,  and  to-day, 
that  in  no  other  way  can  permanent  and  fair 
rates  be  obtained  except  by  such  division  of 
business.  Two  individuals  in  trade  can  quarrel 
and  sell  goods  below  cost,  and  one  of  them 
soon  becomes  bankrupt  and  the  other  then  em- 
ploys him  and  holds  all  the  business  ;  but  railways 
being  public  corporations  continue  to  exist,  and 
when  they  fail  are  managed  by  a  receiver  and  be- 
come worse  competitors  than  ever.  It  is  said 
that  the  public  get  the  benefit  of  this  competition, 
but  only  a  certain  portion  of  the  public.  The 
large  shippers  are  able  to  take  advantage  of  this 
condition  of  affairs  and  make  their  contracts, 
avoiding  the  law  through  one  way  or  another,  and 
then  they  can  undersell  the  small  shipper  and 
drive  him  out  of  business,  and  the  result  for  the 

73 


14 

last  five  years  can  be  seen  all  over  this  country 
in  the  disappearance  of  the  small  shipper,  the 
small  manufacturer,  and  the  growth  of  the  larger. 
This  is  also  true  of  communities  ;  the  effect  of  the 
Interstate  Commerce  Law  has  been  to  build  up 
places  like  Chicago  and  break  down  places  like 
LaFayette.  The  condition  of  affairs  apparently 
culminated  last  spring  in  the  decision  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  United  States  in  what  was 
known  as  the  "Trans-Missouri"  case,  in  which 
that  court  held  that  the  Sherman  Anti-Trust  Law 
applied  to  railways,  and  therefore  practically  any 
association  or  agreement  was  illegal,  and  since 
then  the  railways  have  been  in  a  chaotic  state, 
rates  irregular,  the  earnings  diminishing,  and  their 
patrons,  the  public,  suffer ;  investors  have  be- 
come frightened,  foreigners  have  sent  home  and 
sold  our  bonds  and  stocks ;  and  out  of  these  trou- 
bled times  has  grown  the  business  of  reorganizing 
railways,  until  nearly  one-third  of  the  mileage  of 
the  country  has  been  sold  under  the  hammer  and 
reorganized.  The  old  stockholders  have  lost  their 
investment  or  else  have  secured  a  new  interest  by 

74 


paying  large  assessments.  In  addition  to  this,  the 
different  States  and  cities. and  counties  have  in- 
augurated a  system  of  taxation  by  which  all  bonds 
and  stocks  of  railway  companies  have  been  sub- 
ject to  listing  and  taxation,  although  the  corpora- 
tion paid  the  taxes  upon  the  property  itself.  That 
is,  a  party  in  Indiana  owning  bonds  or  stocks  in  a 
railway  is  compelled  to  list  them  and  pay  taxes 
upon  them,  while  if  he  lived  in  New  York  he 
would  not.  You  can  see  at  once  that  the  Indiana 
man  will  sell  his  securities  to  the  New  York  man, 
for,  while  the  rate  of  taxation  may  be  light,  it  is 
enough  to  change  the  investment.  The  result  has 
been  that  the  local  communities  have  sold  their 
bonds  and  stock ;  the  investments  have  drifted  to 
Wall  Street,  and  the  bonds  and  shares  of  our 
principal  railways  are  to-day  used  simply  as  coun- 
ters are  used  in  a  game  of  cards,  to  mark  the 
speculative  gains  or  losses  of  the  holders.  This 
is  the  most  unhealthy  condition  to  which  a  great 
business  enterprise  can  arrive,  and  we  must  bear 
in  mind  in  considering  this  question  that  there  is 
no  one  business  that  involves  so  much  the  pros- 

75 


i6 

perity  and  happiness  of  the  people  as  that  of  the 
railways  ;  the  entire  community  uses  them.  The 
railways  of  this  country,  as  heretofore  stated, 
employ  nearly  a  million  of  men  in  their  operation. 
There  are  more  employed  directly  in  the  manu- 
facture of  supplies  which  are  used  by  the  rail- 
ways, and  this  army  of  men,  with  the  families 
dependent  upon  them,  constitute  about  one-fifth 
of  our  population,  all  of  whom  are  dependent  upon 
the  railways.  The  prosperity  of  the  railways  is 
their  prosperity ;  the  loss  of  the  railways  is  their 
loss.  There  can  be  no  prosperous  times  in  this 
country  unless  the  railways  prosper.  No  body 
politic  can  be  healthy  when  one-fourth  or  one-fifth 
of  it  is  diseased. 

What  is  the  future  ?  There  must  be  changes 
in  legislation  and  in  the  management  of  railways. 
Some  plan  must  be  adopted  to  increase  the  own- 
ership in  railways  by  parties  residing  along  their 
lines.  The  first  great  step  towards  doing  this  must 
be  a  reform  in  the  tax  laws,  so  that  citizens  of  Indi- 
ana or  other  States  can  be  put  upon  as  favorable 
terms  for  ownership  of  bonds  and  stock  in  a  rail- 

76 


17 

way  as  citizens  of  New  York.  Greater  perma- 
nence must  be  given  to  the  condition  and  owner- 
ship of  railways.  It  would  be  a  great  step  if  we 
could  adopt  the  English  method  and  create  deben- 
tures instead  of  bonds ;  or,  in  other  words,  pro- 
vide that  there  should  be  no  foreclosure  for 
•  non-payment  of  interest.  Such  a  thing  as  foreclos- 
ure of  a  railway  in  England  is  unknown.  If  the  in- 
terest is  not  paid  upon  the  debentures,  there  may 
be  a  receiver  of  the  profits,  but  the  stockholder 
still  holds  his  interest  in  the  property.  Here, 
with  our  system  of  bonds,  if  there  come  a  few 
bad  years,  when  the  interest  is  defaulted,  the 
bondholder  takes  possession  and  sells  it  under  his 
mortgage,  the  interest  of  the  stockholder  is  extin- 
guished, and  when  prosperity  returns  he  has  lost 
his  opportunity  to  get  his  share  of  it.  This  makes 
the  possession  of  railway  stocks  speculative  and 
uncertain  ;  in  fact,  for  years  they  have  been  more 
subject  to  assessments  than  to  the  receipt  of  divi- 
dends. If  our  form  of  mortgage  could  be  changed 
to  that  of  the  English  debenture,  it  would  stop 
the  immense  number  of  reorganizations,  and  would 

(2)  77 


i8 

prevent  values  being  wiped  out  in  times  of  panic, 
and  would  encourage  investment  by  the  people 
in  the  securities  of  these  enterprises — for,  after 
all,  that  is  the  real  improvement  that  is  to  come. 
The  New  England  railways  have  less  trouble  with 
Legislatures  and  courts,  chiefly  because  they  have 
a  great  many  small  holders  of  stocks  along  their 
lines  and  in  the  cities,  each  of  whom  is  an  agent 
of  the  corporation  and  aids  in  creating  public  sen- 
timent and  procuring  fair  treatment,  while  in  the 
great  Central  States  and  in  the  West  there  are 
scarcely  stockholders  enough  to  provide  the  officers 
for  a  stockholders'  meeting.  The  railway  officials 
themselves  must  be  taught  to  conduct  their  busi- 
ness with  care  and  with  due  respect  to  the  rights 
of  the  people.  Their  actions  must  not  be  secret, 
but  above  board  and  open  to  the  public.  There 
must  be  but  one  rate  to  everybody,  and  that  must 
be  reasonable,  and  the  Legislatures  must  provide 
remedies  by  which  railway  officials  can  agree 
with  each  other  on  these  rates  and  their  contracts 
can  be  enforced.  The  present  State  and  national 
laws  in  reference  to  railways  are  crude  and  crazy- 

78 


19 

patch  works,  passed  in  some  cases  out  of  revenge 
for  wrongs,  real  or  fancied,  and  in  others  for  polit- 
ical effect,  and  all  in  opposition  to  the  railways. 
Unfortunately,  railway  officials  have  opposed  all 
legislation  that  looked  to  the  control  of  their  pow- 
ers, and  have  not  tried  to  direct  and  perfect  the 
laws  as  they  might  have  done.  There  should  be 
clear  and  positive  legislation  authorizing  railways 
to  contract  with  each  other  for  the  maintenance 
of  tariffs  and  the  division  of  business,  and  it  should 
be  made  the  duty  of  the  Government  Commis- 
sioners, and  they  should  have  the  power  in  such 
cases  to  see  that  rates  are  reasonable,  and  their 
decisions  as  to  whether  reasonable  or  not  should 
govern,  subject  to  appeal  to  the  courts. 

The  improvement  of  the  country  demands  that 
the  great  articles  of  export,  like  cotton,  wheat, 
flour,  corn  and  meats,  should  be  carried  at  the 
lowest  possible  rates.  The  railways  should  pat- 
tern after  the  English  system,  and  while  making 
extraordinarily  low  rates  for  these  great  articles, 
should  exact  a  terminal  upon  the  higher  classes  of 
freight  and  upon  freight  carried  short  distances,  so 

79 


20 

as  to  provide  interest  upon  the  immense  terminals 
they  have  to  have.  In  other  words,  while  a  railway 
from  Chicago  to  New  York  may  possibly  haul  corn 
for  fifteen  cents  per  hundred  pounds  without  loss,  it 
could  not  haul  it  for  100  miles  on  anything  like  a 
proportion  of  this  rate -without  great  loss.  The 
same  is  true  of  many  articles  that  enter  into  rail- 
way traffic.  Therefore,  in  order  that  the  country 
may  be  benefited  by  having  its  great  articles  of 
export  and  of  manufacture  carried  cheaply,  there 
should  be  a  terminal  charge  affixed  to  other  traffic 
which  would  enable  the  stockholders  to  receive 
something  for  the  very  large  investment  they 
have  to  make  in  every  city  and  town  for  facilities 
wherewith  to  do  their  business. 

Passenger  rates  are  made  entirely  upon  the 
wrong  basis.  We  charge  the  same  for  the  man 
who  rides  in  the  palace  car,  and  for  whom  the 
railway  has  to  haul  two  tons  of  dead  weight,  as 
we  do  for  the  man  who  rides  in  the  ordinary 
coach,  and  for  whom  only  one-half  a  ton  of  dead 
weight  is  hauled.  We  charge  practically  the 
same  for  the  passenger  who  is  carried  sixty  miles 

80 


21 

• 

an  hour  on  the  fast  and  expensive  train  as  we  do 
for  the  passenger  upon  the  slow  and  less  expen- 
sive train.  These  rates  should  be  changed  and 
graded. 

Above  all,  a  better  understanding  must  be  ar- 
rived at  with  the  vast  army  of  employes.  They 
'must  have  greater  interest  in  the  success  of  the 
railways,  and  they  must  be  a  part  of  the  power 
that  will  produce  a  better  understanding  with  the 
communities  which  the  railways  serve.  This 
must  be  done  by  a  system  of  hospitals,  pensions 
and  profit-sharing. 

Probably  locomotives  propelled  by  electricity 
will  come  in  the  future.  If  not,  something  else 
may.  And  we  can  not  tell  what  the  next  years 
have  in  store  in  the  way  of  improving  our  railway 
facilities.  Higher  speed,  possibly  cheaper  trains, 
but  it  is  necessary  to  this  country  of  ours  that  the 
railways  should  be  encouraged,  so  that  they  may  go 
on  improving  their  systems,  so  that  branch  lines 
can  be  built  to  every  county  seat  in  the  country. 
Instead  of  stopping  at  182,00x3  miles  of  railway  we 
should  build  at  least  five  thousand  miles  a  year  in 

81 


22 

short  and  inexpensive  lines  as  feeders  to  the  main 
systems,  so  that  the  days  of  the  stage  coach  and 
the  heavy  wagons  should  be  unknown.  This 
country  will  soon  have  one  hundred  millions  of 
people.  It  will  require  at  least  250,000  miles  of 
railways  to  serve  them  properly — an  increase  of 
40  per  cent,  over  the  present  mileage.  They  can 
not  be  built,  they  can  not  be  improved  and  in- 
creased, with  the  present  system  of  legislation, 
and  with  the  present  prejudice  against  them.  The 
development  of  the  country  demands  that  this 
must  be  changed.  It  is  through  such  institutions 
as  this,  it  is  through  such  students  as  these,  that 
the  change  must  come.  In  the  centuries  that  have 
gone,  the  youth  of  the  various  countries  sought 
fame  and  preferment  in  war  and  its  accompani- 
ments. We  live  in  better  days  and  in  a  higher 
civilization,  but  the  service  of  our  railways  offers 
a  wider  field  for  advancement,  and  for  fame,  than 
anything  of  old.  The  road  to  success  in  this  line 
is  not  through  carnage  and  suffering,  but  it  is 
none  the  less  sure  and  requires  equally  moral 
courage  and  intelligence.  A  new  evangel  must 

82 


23 

be  preached  in  reference  to  railways ;  they  must 
be  placed  upon  a  higher  order,  and  instead  of  be- 
ing pariahs  in  business,  they  must  be  the  bene- 
factors and  friends  of  all. 

I  want  to  add  just  one  word  with  reference  to 
Purdue.  I  had  no  idea,  until  I  came  here  to-day, 
that  it  was  so  great  an  institution  as  it  is.  I  had 
learned  to  respect  your  President.  I  had  known 
what  hard  work  he  did,  and  I  thought  he  was 
building  up  something  here,  but  I  had  no  notion 
whatever  that  he  had  accomplished  so  much  or 
raised  such  a  foundation  as  he  has.  I  congratu- 
late you  that  your  lines  are  laid  in  such  pleasant 
places.  You  can  learn  here  what  it  takes  years 
and  years  of  hard  work  to  learn  practically  if  you 
are  going  to  learn  it  at  the  bench,  or  firing  an 
engine  or  at  work  on  the  railway.  The  great 
English  world,  the  great  end,  is  to  get  rid  of  what 
I  call  the  dollar-a-day  man,  or  the  man  who  does 
the  drudgery,  and  who  never  gets  above  it.  This 
college  of  yours  enables  you  to  start  above  that, 
and  all  you  have  to  do  is  to  improve  your  oppor- 
tunities and  the  fortunes  of  the  world  are  within 

83 


24 

your  grasp.  As  I  went  through  these  halls  to-day 
it  carried  me  back  to  the  times  when  I  was  a  stu- 
dent and  a  teacher,  and  I  could  not  help  thinking 
how  many  more  privileges  you  have  than  we  had 
years  ago,  and  what  a  glorious  opportunity  you 
have  here  to  learn  something  practical  and  prac- 
ticable, so  that  when  you  go  out  from  these  halls, 
instead  of  going  to  the  drudgery  of  what  I  call  a 
dollar-a-day  man,  you  can  start  on  a  higher  basis, 
where  you  can  do  credit  to  yourselves  and  to  your 
university. 


III. 

THE  MUTUAL  OBLIGATIONS  OF 

RAILROAD  CORPORATIONS 

AND  THE  PUBLIC. 


JOHN  W.  NOBLE. 


YOUR  attention  is  invited  to-day  to  a  con- 
sideration of  the  mutual  obligations  of  rail- 
road corporations  and  the  people,  because 
we  all  more  frequently  hear  of  the  rights  claimed 
by  others  than  their  corresponding  duties — and  it 
may  not  be  unprofitable  to  take  a  short  survey  of 
both. 

Your  studies  have  already  led  you  to  investigate 
the  natural  laws  applicable  to  railroad  building. 
A  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  matter  is  essential 
to  this  construction  and  the  mechanical  opera- 
tion of  the  road  requires  their  application  with  the 


nicest  precision.  Experience  has  as  yet  discov- 
ered but  a  portion  of  these  laws,  but  wherever 
known  they  are  recognized  to  be  supreme.  They 
are  immutable.  The  structures  of  antiquity  that 
have  come  down  to  our  own  times  are  maintained 
on  the  same  principles  of  natural  philosophy  as 
the  most  recent  product  or  engineering  skill. 
Where  these  are  obeyed  there  is  harmony  and 
strength,  but  for  their  violation  the  penalty  is 
failure  and  ruin. 

But  how  different  is  it  as  to  human  institutions. 
Reared  under  laws  themselves  imperfect,  they 
vary  as  time  or  locality  seems  to  demand,  and  in 
the  same  nation  they  change  as  man's  intelligence 
advances  or  retrogrades.  The  corporation  is  no 
exception  to  this  observation.  When  man  comes 
to  deal  with  this  legal  creation,  by  whose  instru- 
mentality the  railway  is  formed  and  operated,  he 
feels  no  compulsion  to  obey  the  laws  of  the  State 
regarding  it  He  rather  strives  to  test  its  author- 
ity, its  claim  to  any  right  to  continue  or  exist ; 
and  with  a  desire  to  have  its  benefits  yet  enjoyed, 
deems  it  a  hardship  that  corresponding  burdens 

86 


3 

are  imposed.  The  railroad  manager  is  restless 
under  the  interference  of  the  State  and  the  deci- 
sions of  the  courts,  and  the  people  while  trans- 
ported by  the  road  would  be  delighted,  apparently, 
to  have  the  corporation  demolished.  While  they 
would  declare  the  engineer  insane,  who  having 
wrought  some  great  and  beautiful  work  should  at 
once  overweight  it  to  its  crashing  fall,  or  the  com- 
munity demented  that  should  insist  upon  removing 
the  buttresses  and  stays  of  the  bridge,  and  expect 
it  to  stand,  yet  when  the  railroad  company  begins 
its  career,  it  is  often,  not  to  say  generally,  deemed 
as  intended  merely  for  private  pecuniary  gain,  or 
on  the  other  hand,  it  becomes  an  object  of  indi 
vidual  prejudice  or  public  jealousy,  although 
created  by,  for  and  under  the  immediate  control 
of  the  people  and  the  State. 

We  may  depend  upon  it,  however,  that  as  there 
is  a  law  that  knits  rock  to  rock  and  holds  bar  to 
bar,  or  drives  the  piston  or  flashes  the  subtle  elec- 
tric fluid,  so  that  the  tower  stands,  the  bridge 
remains  fixed  across  the  flood,  and  the  train 
reaches  its  destination  on  time,  so  there  are  laws 

87 


4 

that  as  they  allow  the  creation  of  corporations 
will  sustain  them  in  so  far  as  those  laws  of  their 
being  are  acknowledged  or  punish  when  they  are 
broken,  and  will  wrest  the  advantages  they 
bestow  from  a  people  that  for  long  does  them  in- 
justice. The  created  can  not  sanely  hope  to  con- 
trol the  creator,  and  it  is  madness  on  the  other 
hand  to  create  only  to  dwarf  or  destroy.  Never- 
theless we  are  all  aware  that  we  are  amidst  a  so- 
cial and  political  conflict  arising  from  the  discon- 
tent of  a  large  portion  of  our  people  that  deems 
there  is  an  unauthorized  accumulation  of  wealth 
in  the  hands  of  corporations,  and  a  consequent 
power  with  increasing  disregard  of  obligation  to 
the  State,  and  an  opposing  activity  on  the  part  of 
these  bodies  to  maintain  their  privileges  and  pro 
tect  their  property  against,  as  they  deem,  assaults 
unwarranted  by  the  law  and  revolutionary  in 
their  tendency.  This  discontent,  working  to  ad- 
just affairs  to  new  conditions,  has  brought  up  for 
discussion  many  most  important  questions  affect- 
ing our  present  political  and  social  situation  and  our 
future  national  well-being.  To  the  solution  of 

88 


5 

these  public  attention  can  not  be  too  often  drawn, 
for  it  can  not  be  denied  that  the  best  informed  do 
not  feel  masters  of  the  subject  nor  able  to  form 
conclusions  on  which  they  may  confidently  rely. 
It  certainly  is  not  assumed  by  the  speaker  that  he 
can  do  so.  If,  however,  by  a  few  reflections,  he 
can  help  to  a  just  estimate  of  the  mutual  obliga- 
tions of  railroad  corporations  and  the  people  his 
task  will  not  have  been  undertaken,  it  is  hoped, 
in  vain. 

You  will  of  course  understand  the  subject  must 
be  dealt  with  for  the  most  part  in  outlines  and  re- 
liance placed  more  upon  suggestion  than  demon- 
stration on  every  point,  and  as  we  proceed  it  is 
hoped  you  will  not,  before  we  are  through,  attri- 
bute what  is  said  at  any  part  of  the  discussion  to 
a  partisan  spirit,  for  the  personal  interest  the 
speaker  has  is  that  of  neither  a  corporation  official 
nor  a  communist,  an  anarchist  nor  a  bondholder, 
but  only  that  of  a  citizen  who,  like  you  all,  seeks 
to  understand  the  signs  of  the  times  and  to  ad- 
vance the  public  welfare. 


It  seems  essential  to  this  discussion  to  recur  to 
some  first  principles  at  the  risk  of  being  thought 
to  state  much  that  is  trite.  But  as  our  object  is 
ultimately  to  deal  with  obligations  it  is  necessary 
to  bring  before  us  the  privileges  and  benefits  en- 
joyed, all  of  which  have  their  source  in  established 
law  and  constitutional  government. 

Let  us  then  first  consider  the  corporation,  and 
particularly  the  railroad  corporation,  and  what  the 
State  has  made  it,  upon  what  consideration  this 
has  been  done,  and  whether  it  is  claiming  more 
than  is  warranted  it,  and  whether  there  is  any 
reason  for  jealousy  of,  or  discontent  with,  its  action. 
And,  on  the  other  hand,  what  benefits  the  people 
have  derived  or  wrongs  suffered  from  the  railroad 
corporation,  and  whether  there  are  any  substantial 
grounds  to  fear  legal  obligations  will  not  be  ob- 
served, and  how,  in  either  case,  if  abuses  exist 
or  dangers  threaten,  the  remedy  is  to  be  applied. 

What,  then,  let  us  recall,  are  some  of  the  grants 
the  State  through  its  Legislature  conveys  and  of 
the  privileges  it  has  through  its  courts  bestowed 
upon  these  bodies ;  for  it  is  true  that  to  the  fran 

90 


7 

chises  originally  granted  to  the  corporation  by 
statute  the  courts  of  the  United  States  have  super- 
imposed other  attributes  which  have  led  to  most 
important  results,  and,  among  others,  placed  the 
decision  of  corporate  rights  and  obligations  largely 
in  the  courts  of  the  United  States  as  distinguished 
from  the  courts  of  the  several  States. 

The  growing  spirit  of  antagonism  to  which  we 
have  referred  is  marked  in  its  disposition  to  find 

fault  with  established  definitions,  and  men  of  but 

i 

slight  experience  do  not  hesitate  to  challenge  the 
expositions  given  us  by  Chief  Justice  Marshall, 
Justice  Story,  Daniel  Webster,  and  other  eminent 
founders  of  our  institutions,  and  plunging  headlong 
against  these  tempest-worn  but  yet  unshaken  but- 
tresses of  constitutional  law.  Definitions,  legal 
procedure,  and  constitutional  guarantees  are  ques 
tioned  because  they  are  fixed  and  will  not  give 
way  to  the  theories  of  late  indulged  in.  The  ar- 
rayed forces  seem  to  feel  they  could  manage  better 
with  less  law  and  cut  a  arger  figure  in  affairs  if 
the  fatherly  State  would  let  them  alone.  But  let 
us  remember  that  these  very  forms  were  made  to 


8 

meet  just  the  condition  we  find  at  hand — a  pas- 
sionate and  unreasoning,  if  not  uninformed,  spirit 
of  change  ;  and  that  the  fundamental  principles  of 
our  Government  and  the  rules  for  its  due  admin- 
istration have  been  written  so  as  to  be  read  of  all 
men  in  lines  as  if  engraven  on  stone  and  of  au- 
thority derived  from  the  experience  of  our  race. 

We  may  then,  it  is  submitted,  be  old-fashioned 
without  being  deemed  entirely  out  of  fashion,  and 
quote,  as  has  been  done  for  so  many  years,  the 
words  of  Chief  Justice  .Marshall : 

The  corporation  is  "the  mere  creature  of  law; 
it  possesses  only  those  properties  which  the  char- 
ter of  its  creation  confers  upon  it,  either  expressly, 
or  as  incidental  to  its  very  existence.  These  are 
such  as  are  supposed  best  calculated  to  effect  the 
object  for  which  it  was  created.  Among  the  most 
important  are  immortality,  and,  if  the  expression 
may  be  allowed,  individuality ;  properties  by 
which  a  perpetual  succession  of  many  persons  are 
considered  as  the  same  and  may  act  as  a  single 
individual.  They  enable  a  corporation  to  manage 
ts  own  affairs,  and  to  hold  property,  without  the 

92 


9 

perplexing  intricacies,  the  hazardous  and  endless 
necessity  of  perpetual  conveyances  for  the  pur- 
pose of  transmitting  it  from  hand  to  hand.  It  is 
chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  clothing  bodies  of  men, 
in  succession,  with  these  qualities  and  capacities, 
that  corporations  were  invented  and  are  in  use. 
By  this  means,  a  perpetual  succession  of  individ- 
uals are  capable  of  acting  for  the  promotion  of 
the  particular  object  like  one  immortal  being."  * 
Were  the  attributes  mentioned  by  the  Chief 
Justice  the  only,  as  they  were  the  most  general 
and  prominent  ones,  with  which  the  corporation  is 
clothed,  they  were  enough  to  have  led  to  its  rapid 
adoption  in  our  country  for  the  transaction  of 
business  affairs  and  the  control  of  property.  It 
was  already  in  the  days  of  Marshall  a  rapidly  de- 
veloping result  from  the  advancing  spirit  of  the 
age  and  of  our  republican  institutions  that  com- 
merce and  all  great  ventures  and  enterprises 
should  be  undertaken  by  associated  action.  The 
corporation  was  itself  similar  to  a  republic  in  form. 
Its  shareholders  were  its  constituents,  its  directors 


*  Dartmouth  College  v.  Woodward,  4  Wheaton,  636. 

93 


10 

its  legislative  body,  and  its  purposes  executed 
through  its  president  or  other  chief  officers.  It 
was  not  dissolved  by  the  death  of  any  of  its  mem- 
bers like  a  copartnership,  and  it  brought  together 
the  means  of  many  to  form  a  capital,  and  while 
those  contributing  were  relieved  from  the  immedi- 
ate care  of  the  business,  they  shared  in  the  profits. 
The  American  was  not  slow  to  recognize  it  as'a 
most  desirable  business  form  and  one  akin  to  this 
new  republic.  Indeed,  President  Eliott,  in  his 
book,  "American  Contributions  to  Civilization/' 
affirms  the  corporation  is  an  agency  for  training 
masses  of  people  to  the  high  virtues  of  fidelity  and 
loyalty,  and  though  no  longer  an  exclusively  dem- 
ocratic agency  it  has  given  strong  support  to  dem- 
ocratic institutions. 

But  in  the  case  from  which  the  definition  stated 
has  been  quoted,  there  was  declared  a  new,  addi- 
tional and  most  important  principle  applicable  to 
the  relation  of  these  bodies  to  the  State  ;  and  that 
was  that  in  granting  a  charter  the  State  made  a 
contract  with  the  corporation,  the  obligation  of 
which  could  not  be  afterwards  impaired  by  the 


94 


II 

State,  under  the  inhibition  of  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States.  This  decision  was  made  in 
1819.  Many  corporations  then  existed  indeed, 
but  they  were  few  in  number  and  feeble  in 
power  compared  with  those  that  soon  thereafter 
began  to  form  in  all  the  States  for  business  pur- 
poses, and  that  movement  was  impelled,  no  doubt, 
in  part,  by  the  great  additional  security  given  by 
the  decision  just  mentioned.  Justice  Story,  at 
the  period  stated,  to  illustrate  the  difference  be- 
tween a  public  and  a  private  corporation,  could 
cite  as  examples  of  those  whose  objects  and  op- 
erations partook  of  a  public  nature,  only  banks, 
insurance,  canal,  bridge  and  turnpike  companies. 
It  was  but  comparatively  a  short  period,  however, 
before  not  only  the  corporations  greatly  increased 
in  numbers,  but  the  railroad  company  appeared. 
But  from  the  beginning  there  was  a  spirit  of  jeal- 
ousy toward  all  these  organizations  and  of  criti- 
cism of  their  influence  prevalent.  A  signal 
instance  of  this  opposition  appeared  in  the  case  of 
Bank  of  Augusta  against  Earle,  decided  in  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  about 


95 


12 

twenty  years  after  the  Dartmouth  case,  in  which 
the  question  was  whether  a  corporation  could 
make  a  valid  contract  beyond  the  confines  of  the 
State  in  which  the  corporation  was  created. 
Counsel  of  eminence  argued  this  question  not 
only  with  learning  and  all  the  logic  at  their  com- 
mand, but  with  very  considerable  personal  feeling 
and  the  court  decided  it  with  great  consideration. 
It  was  a  question  that,  judging  from  his  laborious 
and  earnest  argument  before  the  court,  gave  to 
Daniel  Webster,  as  a  statesman  and  a  patriot, 
great  uneasiness. 

Mr.  Ingersoll,  voicing  the  feeling  and  judgment 
of  many,  said : 

"  At  the  period  of  our  independence,  there  were 
few,  if  any,  corporations,  and  no  banking  corpo- 
rations in  America.  *  *  *  Not  until  long  after 
the  American  Revolution  had  the  corporation  be- 
gun to  germinate,  and  only  within  a  very  few 
years  last  past  has  it  attained  a  growth  which 
overshadows  all  our  institutions.  Philosophical 
guards  of  this  formidable  imperium  in  imperio  can 
not  be  dispensed  with  without  enabling  a  vast 

96 


13 

engine  of  factitious  wealth  to  crush  commun- 
ties." 

On  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Ogden,  one  of  the 
counsel,  argued,  that: 

"  One  of  the  most  important  objects  and  inter- 
ests for  the  preservation  of  the  Union  is  the  estab- 
lishment of  railroads,  and  they  could  not  get  on 
without  the  power  to  make  contracts,  such  as 
were  then  in  question." 

These  references  and  quotations  show  the  ad- 
vance of  the  corporation  in  those  few  years  into 
the  broad  fields  of  insurance,  manufacturing  and 
transportation,  and  illustrate  how  the  courts  were 
adapting  the  powers  of  corporations,  as  they  ex- 
isted at  common  law,  to  the  peculiar  relations 
between  the  National  Government  and  those  of 
the  several  States.  And  we  are  able  to  perceive 
how  the  genius  of  our  statesmen  had  to  emanci- 
pate itself  from  the  strict  construction  of  former 
legal  relations  to  give  free  scope  to  our  institu- 
tions. Mr.  Webster  himself  remarked,  "  We  have 
no  second  LaPlace,  and  we  never  shall  have,  with 
his  Mechanique  politique,  able  to  define  and  de- 

97 


14 

scribe  the  order  of  each  sphere  in  our  political 
system,  with  mathematical  precision.  There  is 
no  such  thing  as  arranging  these  governments  of 
ours  by  the  laws  of  gravitation,  so  that  they  will 
be  sure  to  go  on  forever  without  impinging." 
There  had  to  be  adaptation  of  means  to  the  new 
and  then  experimental  form  of  our  government, 
and  our  country  was  indeed  fortunate  to  have  had 
statesmen  then  who  were  equal  to  the  task.  We 
need  such  men  now.  The  field  is  open,  my 
young  friends,  and  you  need  not  hesitate  to  enter. 
You  will  not  only  have  to  enter,  but  to  act. 

Let  us  next  note  how  corporations  were  au- 
thorized to  sue  or  be  sued  in  the  United  States, 
for  from  this  much  of  importance  has  resulted. 
At  the  period  of  the  Augusta  Bank  decision  it  was 
accepted  .doctrine  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court,  that  under  that  clause  of  the  Constitution 
giving  to  United  States  Courts  jurisdiction  in  suits 
between  citizens  of  different  States,  a  corporation 
could  there  sue,  or  be  sued,  only  when  all  its 
members  (or  stockholders)  were  actually  citizens 
of  the  State  where  the  corporation  was  created. 


It  could  not  be  affirmed  broadly  that  a  corporation 
was  a  citizen,  and  the  question  was  then,  how 
could  it  sue,  or  be  sued,  in  a  United  States  Court  ? 
The  Supreme  Court  first  held  that  the  artificial 
being — the  mere  legal  entity  a  corporation  aggre 
gate — was  not  a  citizen,  and  could  not  sue  or  be 
sued  in  the  courts  of  the  United  States  unless  the 
rights  of  the  members  in  this  respect  could  be  ex- 
ercised in  their  corporate  name.  Subsequently  it 
announced  that  a  corporation  created  by  and  doing 
business  in  a  particular  State  was  to  be  deemed, 
to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  a  person,  although 
an  artificial  person,  an  inhabitant  of  the  same 
State,  for  the  purposes  of  its  corporation,  capable 
of  being  treated  as  a  citizen  of  that  State  as  much 
as  a  natural  person ;  and  especially  in  the  manner 
in  which  it  can  sue  and  be  sued,  it  was  substan- 
tially, within  the  meaning  of  the  law,  a  citizen  of 
the  State  which  created  it.  These  propositions 
are  very  familiar  to  us  now,  but  they  were  in 
those  days  by  no  means  self-evident  nor  acknowl- 
edged by  many ;  and  had  those  presiding  in  our 
courts  not  been  statesmen,  as  well  as  learned 


99 


i6 

Judges,  the  corporation  of  to-day  would  have  been 
for  original  jurisdiction  in  the  hands  of  the  State 
courts.  Shortly  afterwards  the  courts  rather  in- 
veighed against  the  opinion  that  the  corporation 
should  not  be  deemed  entitled  to  sue  in  the  na- 
tional courts,  or  that  other  suitors-  should  be  com- 
pelled to  sue  the  corporation  in  the  State  courts, 
where,  it  was  said,  the  suitor  must  contend  with 
powerful  corporations  in  local  courts,  and  where 
the  chances  of  impartial  justice  would  be  greatly 
against  him,  and  where  no  prudent  man  would 
engage  with  such  an  antagonist  if  he  could  help  it. 
And  it  was  decided  that  members  of  the  corporate 
body  must  be  presumed  to  be  citizens  of  the  State 
in  which  the  corporation  was  domiciled,  and  that 
both  parties  were  estopped  from  denying  it,  and 
this  proposition  was  finally  affirmed  and  is  yet  the 
law.  Thus  we  perceive  that,  in  addition  to  the 
ordinary  powers  possessed  by  corporations,  they 
have  been,  against  the  most  earnest  opposition, 
declared  by  the  courts  to  hold  charters  that  are 
contracts  with  the  States  that  can  not  be  constitu- 
tionally impaired  by  statute  or  decision  ;  that  they 

100 


17 

can  make  contracts  beyond  the  limits  of  the  States 
where  they  are  created,  unless  there  is  express 
prohibition  by  law  of  the  State  where  the  contract 
is  attempted  to  be  made,  and  that  then  bodies 
may  sue  or  be  sued  in  the  United  States  courts  as 
if  citizens  of  States,  without  inquiry  into  the  ques- 
tion of  the  citizenship  of  the  individuals  compos- 
ing them.  You  will  notice,  running  like  a  golden 
thread  through  the  expressions  of  the  courts,  that 
these  bodies,  and  particularly  the  railroads,  should 
be  thus  endowed  in  support  of  the  union  of  these 
States ;  and  so  that  the  political  system  then  new 
in  operation  should  not,  by  too  technical  decisions 
of  the  national  tribunals,  become  an  instrument  of 
injustice,  and  thus  fail  of  the  purpose  for  which  it 
was  created.  Corporations  thus  became,  in  a 
sense,  nationalized.  And  it  is  further  to  be  noted 
that  in  their  opinions  rendered  and  their  conclu- 
sions reached  in  days  so  long  ago  the  particular 
questions  now  agitated  between  capital  and  labor 
were  not  in  view  any  more  than  railroads  were 
when  the  court  was  illustrating  the  subject  before 
it  by  reference  to  canals  and  turnpikes.  There 

(2)  101 


i8 

was  indeed  great  political  agitation  as  to  the  banks, 
and  especially  the  United  States  Bank,  and  polit- 
ical parties  were  fierce  in  their  support  or  opposi- 
tion to  these  particular  institutions  ;  but  the  ques- 
tions to-day  so  prominent  were  not  up,  nor  were 
the  decisions  named  made  in  view  of  them.  We 
have  now  come  upon  new  questions  indeed,  but 
the  lessons  of  the  past  give  us  reason  to  believe 
that  they  are  not  beyond  adjustment  if  we  adhere 
to  reason  and  have  the  wisdom  the  fathers  had. 

Corporations  are  not  in  our  times  usually  given 
perpetual  succession,  or  "  immortality,"  as  it  was 
termed  by  the  Chief  Justice,  but  only  a  continual 
existence  for  a  number  of  years.  They  do  enjoy, 
however,  under  the  decisions  of  the  Court,  indi- 
viduality. Their  legal  entity  is  not  only  equiva- 
lent in  the  law  to  that  of  persons  for  the  purpose 
of  their  creation,  but  there  are  added  thereto 
many  advantages  in  the  way  of  franchises  that 
individuals  do  not  possess.  And  the  corporation 
itself,  by  almost  universal  rule,  now  has  itself 
also  the  right  to  mortgage  or  otherwise  encumber 
and  so,  if  necessary,  dispose  of  all  its  franchises, 

102 


19 

other  than  that  to  be  a  corporation.  And  when 
we  speak  of  those  engaged  in  what  is  deemed 
public  business,  and  particularly  railroad  compa- 
nies, there  is  added  the  further  and  most  important 
right  of  eminent  domain ;  the  power  to  take  pri- 
vate property  for  corporate  use,  without  the  own- 
er's consent,  and  indeed  because  he  will  not  con- 
sent to  voluntarily  dispose  of  it  upon  an  offer  of 
an  alleged  fair  remuneration.  It  matters  not  how 
dear  from  the  associations  of  his  life  the  property 
thus  sought  may  be  to  the  owner ;  how  much 
adorned  ;  by  what  labor  and  care  of  years  pre- 
served for  a  home ;  or  valuable  to  himself  for  his 
own  business  purposes,  the  State  confers  upon 
the  public  corporation  so  much  of  its  sovereign 
power  as  will  enable  it  to  appropriate  upon  just 
compensation,  the  real  estate  necessary  to  its  own 
use.  And  we  may  lastly  observe  that  the  State 
declares  the  roads  and  bridges  thus  established 
are  public  highways,  but  with  the  right  of  the 
corporations  to  demand  toll  for  transporting 
thereon  freight  and  passengers ;  and  while  the 
theory  may  exist-that  others  could  also  use  these 

103 


20 

roads,  being  public  highways,  yet  in  practical 
effect  there  is  given  to  the  particular  bodies  con- 
structing and  owning  them,  the  exclusive  posses- 
sion and  use.  These  highways,  moreover,  when 
extended  from  State  to  State  have  a  business  that 
because  it  is  between  the  several  States  or  for- 
eign nations,  secures  it  the  protection  of  the  na- 
tional government,  which  has  the  exclusive  power 
to  regulate  interstate  commerce  and  the  property 
of  such  corporations  is  protected  by  the  same 
power  in  case  of  assault  under  the  forms  of  law 
or  incidentally. 

This  short  synopsis  of  the  privileges  conferred 
brings  into  view  the  peculiar  and  valuable  rights 
and  privileges  conferred  on  these  bodies  by  the 
State.  Multiply  these  considerations  by  the  num- 
ber of  these  bodies,  already  existing,  extending 
through  all  our  States  and  territories,  authorized 
by  the  State  and  by  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  uniting  so  as  to  form  continuous  lines  of 
transportation,  some  crossing  the  continent  and 
many  projecting  through  many  States,  and  the 
privileges  conferred  may  be  appreciated  by  meas- 


104 


21 

uring  the  obvious  power  bestowed.  Our  railroads 
have  about  two  hundred  thousand  miles  of  track 
and  transport  annually  nearly  800,000,000  tons  of 
freight  and  more  than  500,000,000  passengers ; 
they  are  served  by  nearly  a  million  employes,  and 
their  liabilities  in  stock  and  funded  debt  amount, 
apparently,  to  over  nine  thousand  million  dollars 
of  capital ;  while  statistics  indeed  fail  to  adequately 
present  the  vast  amount  of  property,  business  and 
employment  held,  whether  in  great  combinations 
or  in  ordinary  business  possession,  by  other  corpo- 
rate bodies  engaged  in  pursuits  of  almost  endless 
variety,  banking,  insurance,  real  estate,  mining, 
river  or  canal  transportation,  manufacturing,  trad 
ing  in  wares  of  every  kind,  and  so  on  as  to  every 
human  occupation. 

Whether  we  contemplate  the  benefit  to  the  real 
owners  of  a  single  corporation  or  the  general  ben 
efit  enjoyed  by  the  great  mass  of  these  bodies, 
the  advantages  bestowed  are  of  a  nature  and  ex- 
tent that  no  one  can  pretend  do  not  carry  with 
them  great  corresponding  obligations.  And  this 
brings  us  to  present  the  consideration  for  which 


105 


22 

these  rights  and  privileges  and  favors  have  been 
bestowed.  This,  like  so  many  of  the  great  prin- 
ciples on  which  our  Government  laws  rest,  was 
declared  by  Chief  Justice  Marshall.  He  said  : 

"  The  objects  for  which  a  corporation  is  created 
are  universally  such  as  the  Government  wishes 
to  promote.  They  are  deemed  beneficial  to  the 
country  ;  and  this  benefit  constitutes  the  consid- 
eration, and  in  most  cases  the  sole  consideration, 
of  the  grant." 

This  lega.1  proposition  does  not  mean  that  any 
and  every  mere  material  development  of  its  re- 
sources or  accommodation  to  its  inhabitants  is  the 
sole  benefit  the  country  is  entitled  to  receive  from 
the  public  corporation  to  which  the  State  grants 
existence  and  power.  It  means  all  this  indeed, 
but  it  means  also  that  in  the  exercises  of  its  fran- 
chises the  corporation  shall  primarily  regard  and 
promote  the  public  welfare  as  the  sole  considera- 
tion upon  which  it  can  claim  to  continue  its  career 
or  existence.  "  The  act  of  incorporation  is  for  the 
benefit  of  the  unincorporated  as  much  as  for  the 
incorporated." 

106 


23 

If  the  charter  is  a  contract,  it  must  be  sup- 
ported by  a  consideration  moving  each  party  to 
make  it,  and  that  to  the  State  is  the  promotion  of 
the  public  welfare.  If  it  can  make  contracts  be- 
yond the  limits  of  the  State  where  created  it 
rests  not  alone  upon  comity,  but  upon  the  claim 
'  it  has  to  the  privileges  and  immunities  in  other 
States  it  enjoys  when  created,  and  subject  to  the 
obligation  to  support  elsewhere,  as  at  home,  the 
public  welfare  ;  if  it  may  sue  or  be  sued  in  the 
United  States  Courts  it  is  because  the  national 
government  has  extended  to  it  the  protection  of 
its  forum  for  the  promotion  of  justice  and  the  pro- 
tection of  the  vast  material  interests  within  cor- 
porate control,  and  that  it  has  been  deemed  from 
the  earliest  days  of  our  national  existence,  could 
not  be  safely  left  to  the  State  courts  and  juries. 
And  if  the  sovereign  right  of  eminent  domain  has 
been  bestowed  upon  them,  it  has  been  because 
individual  interests  of  the  most  sacred  proprietary 
character  have  been  deemed  insignificant  in  com- 
parison with  the  public  good  these  bodies  are 
expected  to  secure  and  the  public  welfare  they 

107 


24 

have  promised  to  support.  Under  other  forms  of 
government  no  titled  personages,  or  private  sub- 
jects have  ever  been  so  highly  favored.  The 
grants  to  Lord  Baltimore  or  William  Penn,  though 
munificent,  sink  into  insignificance  with  those 
rights  and  privileges  given  to  such  a  corporation 
as  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  and  in 
the  aggregate  enjoyed  by  the  hundreds  of  railroad 
corporations  in  the  United  States,  either  singly  or 
in  combination  with  each  other.  In  either  case 
there  was  undoubtedly  in  contemplation  by  the 
State  the  development  of  the  natural  resources  of 
the  country,  the  population  of  new  territory,  and 
thus  to  increase  the  strength  of  the  sovereign 
government.  But  there  was  then,  as  there  is 
now,  with  the  grant  the  underlying  and  impera- 
tive duty  imposed  of  loyalty  to  the  State,  fidelity 
to  the  interests  of  its  people,  and  justice  with  un- 
questionable integrity  in  all  business  relations. 

Hence  we  may  say  that  the  first  great  obliga- 
tion of  all  corporations,  and  particularly  of  all  pub- 
lic corporations,  such  as  railroad  companies,  is 
scrupulous  fidelity  to  their  public  trust. 

108 


25 

It  will  not  be  here  claimed,  of  course,  that  those 
seeking  the  grant  of  the  privileges  conferred,  may 
not  be  properly  moved  by  the  purpose  of  making 
a  personal  pecuniary  profit  thereby,  but  this  must 
be,  necessarily,  in  view  of  the  grants  they  secure, 
subordinate  to  the  interest  of  the  State  and  with 
a  view  to  advance  the  public  welfare. 

Creatures  of  the  law's  creation,  they  do  not, 
and  should  not,  attempt  to  make,  control  or  evade 
the  law,  but,  from  the  very  source  of  their  origin, 
should  be  the  most  of  all  obedient  thereto  and  the 
supporters,  without  guile  or  undue  influence,  of  a 
just  administration  of  the  government,  and  sin- 
cerely regardful  of  the  enjoyment  by  others  of 
their  rights  and  privileges  as  inhabitants  and 
citizens. 

This  seems  a  plain  proposition  and  worthy  of 
all  acceptation.  That  it  is  present  as  an  influence, 
either  in  the  minds  of  those  who  operate  these 
corporations,  or  even  of 'others  who  have  to  deal 
with  them  and  fear  their  power,  may  well  be  de- 
nied. The  possessors  of  the  privileges  conferred 
strive  to  make  the  greatest  profit  they  can,  and 

109 


26 

leave  it  to  others  to  look  out  for  themselves,  and 
the  citizen  rather  considers  the  personal  disad- 
vantage he  may  suffer  or  fear.  But  neither  the 
one  nor  the  other  thinks  of  the  source  of  the  ex- 
istence of  the  grant  or  the  superior  obligation  be- 
cause thereof,  resting  on  the  creature  to  obey  the 
law  of  its  creator,  that  the  public  interests  may  be 
served. 

Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  these  remarks  are 
made  from  any  want  of  appreciation  of  the  great 
and  manifold  benefits  derived  by  the  people  from 
their  existence  and  operation,  of  railroads.  The 
speaker  needs  not  go  to  history  to  learn  the 
changes  for  the  better  brought  about  by  these 
bodies.  It  is  within  the  lifetime  of  many  now  liv- 
ing that  the  first  were  constructed  in  our  Western 
States.  The  time  can  yet  be  well  remembered 
when  our  legislators,  dispersing  at  the  end  of  a 
session,  went  to  their  homes  by  the  turnpike,  or 
by  the  dirt  roads  radiating  from  the  capital.  The 
vehicle  of  the  traveler  or  of  the  common  carrier 
was  the  old  stage  coach,  while  the  mail  was  car- 
ried on  the  horse  in  the  days  of  Cowper  by  the 

1 10 


27 

postman  with  spattered  boots  and  frozen  locks. 
No  railroads  existed  to  any  considerable  extent 
throughout  the  middle  States  and  none  at  all  in 
the  great  west.  Manufacturing,  to  the  small 
extent  carried  on,  and  merchandizing  were  alto- 
gether in  the  hands  of  individuals.  Good  roads, 
so  essential  to  the  development  of  a  country,  to 
its  advance  in  intelligence,  comfort  and  civiliza- 
tion, were  wanting.  With  a  foresight  and  patriot- 
ism that  marked  him  the  greatest  statesman  and 
endeared  him  then  to  his  fellow  citizens,  as  it  does 
his  memory  now  to  his  countrymen,  Henry 
Clay  strove  not  unsuccessfully  for  internal  im- 
provements, and  had  brought  into  existence  the 
great  National  Road  running  to  the  west;  but 
with  all  his  genius  he  had  not  conceived,  as  no 
man  could,  the  wonderful  development  by  rail- 
roads that  have  since  transformed  the  country. 
He  had  advocated  a  public  policy  which  he 
believed  would  develop  manufactures  in  the 
United  States,  but  he  did  not,  as  no  man  could, 
conceive  of  the  awakening  of  that  spirit  of  inven- 
tion that  has  united  the  people  of  all  our  States 

in 


28 

by  the  power  of  instant  communication  of  intelli- 
gence, the  rapid  dissemination  of  printed  or  writ- 
ten information  and  the  transportation  of  freight 
and  persons  over  mountains  and  plains,  from  one 
confine  to  another  with  a  celerity  and  precision, 
then  inconceivable.  He,  however,  had  a  sublime 
faith  in  the  people,  a  love  of  our  country,  and  he 
knew  that  its  commerce  beneath  the  State  would 
arise  to  gigantic  force  and  in  time  occupy  by  some 
means  all  the  wide  area  of  our  land,  and  hold  by 
its  unyielding  grasp  the  Union  together.  The 
railroad  corporations  have  been  that  means  in 
large  part.  They  have  spanned  the  continent. 
They  have  united  every  hamlet,  not  only  with 
the  capitals  of  the  States,  but  with  the  national 
capital.  The  people  and  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment having  removed  the  savage  tribes  and 
cleared  the  way  for  them,  and  paid  to  build  them 
in  great  part,  they  have,  in  conjunction  with 
other  corporations,  supplying  them  improvements 
and  assistance  in  various  forms,  made  a  journey 
from  San  Francisco  to  New  York  a  pleasant  jaunt 
of  a  few  days.  They  have  made  it  possible  for 

112 


2Q 

the  merchant  in  most  distant  parts  to  visit  easily 
any  metropolis  to  purchase  and  again  to  sell 
through  a  wide  expanse  of  territory,  and  to  com- 
munities before  inaccessible.  They  have  pro- 
duced incomes  which  great  multitudes  of  our 
people  have  enjoyed,  and  they  have  employed 
masses  of  men  with  labor  more  or  less  requited. 
They  have  transported  our  mails  and  carried  our 
troops,  and  upon  due  compensation  performed 
many  of  their  public  duties.  More  might  be  said 
in  this  regard,  but  you  have  probably  been  told  of 
these  things  by  others  who  have  preceded  me. 
Many  persons  seem  to  think  the  railroad  corpora- 
tions have  made  our  country,  but  the  truth  is  our 
country  and  our  people  have  made,  not  only  the 
railroads,  but  the  corporations  that  have  solicited 
the  franchise  to  manage  them  for  the  States'  pur- 
poses. Enough  has  been  expressed  to  remove 
the  thought  that  what  has  been  done  by  them  has 
not  been  valuable  and  of  great  benefit  and  is  duly 
appreciated. 

But  to  have  done  well  in  some,  or  even  many 
and  very  important  particulars,  is  but  a  return  in 

113 


30 

part  to  the  State  of  the  great  consideration  due 
for  the  privileges  conferred.  The  full  measure  of 
that  return  requires  there  should  have  been  no 
delinquencies  affecting  the  public  welfare,  and 
certainly  no  complaint  made  if  such  be  pointed 
out  and  reformation  suggested. 

Without  endeavoring  on  this  occasion  to  enter 
upon  an  exhaustive  statement  of  the  delinquencies 
of  corporations  in  their  relations  to  the  public,  but 
rather  to  illustrate  by  a  few  examples,  the  sub- 
ject we  are  considering,  and  not  attributing  the 
misconduct  of  their  affairs  by  any  means  to  all 
such  bodies,  one — as  time  presses — may  be  prom- 
inently mentioned  as  a  gross  violation  of  corpo- 
rate obligation  and  that  which  has  been  the  least 
controlled  by  statute  or  court  decision.  This  is 
the  creation  of  bonded  indebtedness  far  beyond 
the  actual  value  of  the  property  represented  and 
on  which,  by  mortgage  or  other  form  of  lien,  such 
liability  is  professed  to  be  secured.  Whatever 
effort  has  been  made  by  the  State  to  restrain  this 
evil,  has  been  either  too  feeble  to  be  effective,  or 
too  vague  to  be  enforced  ;  and  while  there  have 

114 


been  many  foreclosures  and  sales  of  property, 
there  have  been  few  or  no  proceedings  by  the 
State  to  enforce  such  restriction  as  may  have 
been  enacted,  by  forfeiture  of  the  franchises  en- 
joyed or  the  punishment  of  those  officers  perpe 
trating  the  wrong,  as  there  should  have  been. 

The  aggregate  amount  of  bonded  indebtedness 
of  the  railroad  companies  of  the  United  States 
over  and  above  any  fair  or  even  liberal  valuation 
of  their  property  is  not  only  in  itself  immense, 
but  the  reckless  disregard  of  the  first  principles 
of  fair  dealing  in  such  matters  has  been  shown  in 
our  courts  of  justice  for  many  years  past  and  is 
daily  developing.  On  the  180,000  miles  of  road 
equipped  the  funded  debt  is  over  five  billion  dol- 
lars ;  and  the  capital  stock  is  about  as  much  more. 
This  little  corporate  republic  has  not,  in  every  in- 
stance, been  worthy  of  its  parent  in  integrity,  nor 
inherited  that  regard  for  the  rights  of  others  its 
extraction  would  lead  us  to  expect.  A  property, 
whether  of  ordinary  or  of  very  great  value,  either 
in  possession  or  in  expectation  of  acquisition  by 
the  company,  is  first  represented  by  a  capital 


32 

stock  that  were  there  to  be  no  immediate  encum- 
brances whatever  on  the  assets,  would  be  deemed 
largely  fictitious.  Every  corporation  is  debtor  to 
its  capital,  and  its  possessions  should  be  sufficient 
in  actual  value  to  meet  this  liability.  It  is  indeed 
true  that  these  assets  need  not  be  real  property 
or  other  tangible  things,  but  may  consist  in  those 
very  franchises  the  State  has  conferred,  or  the 
benefits  derivable  from  the  use  of  the  other  prop- 
erty singly  or  in  connection  with  other  like  pos- 
sessions. "  The  capital  stock  of  a  corporation 
and  the  shares  in  a  joint  stock  company  represent 
not  only  the  tangible  property,  but  also  the  in- 
tangible, including  therein  the  corporate  franchises 
and  all  contracts,  privileges  and  good  will  of  the 
concern."  But  with  every  allowance  for  the  in- 
tangible with  the  tangible,  the  excessive  capitali- 
zation of  very  many  companies,  is  not  only  obvi- 
ous on  the  most  cursory  examination  of  their 
condition,  but  is  exhibited  in  the  prices  of  the 
stock  in  the  exchanges  of  the  country,  ranging  at 
a  few  cents  on  its  par  value.  It  makes  its  first 
appearance  on  the  lists  dwarfed  and  discredited. 

116 


33 

To  this  liability  there  is  added,  not  only  the  bonds 
issued  for  the  construction  of  the  company,  as  a 
first  mortgage,  and  which  itself  demonstrates  that 
the  stock  has  not  been  issued  for  any  pecuniary 
equivalent  to  the  company,  which  otherwise 
would  be  sufficient  in  itself  to  have  built  the  road, 
but  the  first  encumbrance  is  followed  in  time  by 
another  and  that  by  another  and  so  on,  until  the 
blanket  mortgage  is  created  whose  value  is  but 
small  and  whose  purpose  and  early  effect  is  to 
put  the  property  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver,  to 
effect  a  sale  ;  and  through  a  syndicate  of  a  por- 
tion of  the  holders  of  these  last  bonds  obtain  the 
possession  of  the  effects  and  franchises  of  the 
old  company  and  create  a  new  one  free  from  the 
old  and  unsecured  legal  liabilities  and  frequently 
with  a  scaling  of  the  prior  mortgages.  Were 
there  no  other  evil  than  such  willful  and  unprin- 
cipled disruption  of  the  system  intended  by  the 
State  and  covenanted  to  the  State  to  be  perpetu- 
ated for  the  term  of  the  corporate  existence,  it 
would  be  such  a  violation  of  the  obligation  of  the 
corporation  to  the  people,  as  is  unpardonable. 


(3) 


34 

But  it,  in  most  cases,  inflicts  much  greater  wrong. 
For  in  the  case  of  a  railroad  very  often  many 
bonded  obligations  of  other  and  dependent  roads 
are  thus  almost  absolutely  destroyed.  These  are 
those  obligations  secured  on  branch  roads  or 
leased  lines  built  by  small  and  separate  corpora- 
tions which  alone  are  legally  and  primarily  liable 
on  the  bonds,  and  whose  roads  would  not  be 
deemed  at  all  a  sufficient  security  but  for  the  con- 
nection with  the  greater  company,  which  takes 
the  leases  and  promises  or  guarantees  the  pay- 
ment of  a  sufficient  rent  to  pay  the  interest  on 
the  branch  mortgages  as  it  accrues.  But  this 
promise  or  guaranty  is  not  itself  secured  by  the 
main  company  by  lien  on  any  of  its  own  property, 
and  stands  on  the  footing  of  a  merely  general  ob- 
ligation, and  is  made  before  the  blanket  incum- 
brance.  And  so  it  results  that  on  the  foreclosure 
on  the  main  or  lessee's  road,  and  the  utter  bank- 
ruptcy of  the  older  company  and  its  disappear- 
ance from  the  field  of  operation,  the  holders  of 
the  bonds  on  the  leased  lines  are  thrown  back  on 
to  their  original  and  insufficient  security  and  nec- 

118 


35 

essarily  suffer  an  immense  loss  of  the  principal 
invested,  with  all  the  intermediate  loss  of  income 
and  in  many  cases  with  great  individual  suffering. 
For  these  bonds  have  been  made  to  sell,  and  by 
adroit  means  are  put  into  the  hands  of  small 
holders,  men,  women,  trustees  for  minors  and  of 
various  charitable  and  educational  institutions, 
which  have,  with  no  sufficient  understanding  of 
the  insecurity  of  the  guaranty,  been  misled  and 
seduced  by  the  temporary  good  reputation  of  the 
main  company. 

This  is  not  an  illustration  taken  from  a  single 
instance,  but  is  drawn  from  many  and  notorious 
instances  of  railroad  management,  and  is  men- 
tioned, not  to  harm,  but  to  protect.  Nor  has  the 
evil  ceased.  The  country  is  by  no  means  fully 
supplied  with  railroads.  There  will  be  at  least  as 
many  more  built  as  already  exist,  and  promoters 
are  to  be  found  ready  to  sacrifice  every  principle 
of  honor  and  play  the  old  game.  In  some  such 
instances  it  is  charitable  to  suppose  the  ultimate 
disaster  was  unanticipated,  and  that  it  was  not 
intended  originally  to  make  the  last  and  destruc- 

119 


36 

tive  mortgage ;  although  in  such  cases  it  can  not 
be  deemed  other  than  an  evasive  contrivance  that 
left  the  guaranty  unsecured  ;  but  in  most  cases  it 
has  been  apparent  that  the  branches  then  built 
were  leased,  and  the  bonds  of  these  branches 
floated  to  the  enrichment  of  either  the  directors  or 
others  interested  in  the  main  line,  or  outside  par- 
ties who  were  .dishonestly  favored.  There  was 
no  purpose  to  give  to  the  State  its  due  consider- 
ation ;  no  sincere  regard  for  the  public  welfare. 
Besides  those  held  by  our  own  people  such  bonds 
in  the  aggregate  of  immense  value  are  held  in 
other  countries,  and  when  such  losses  are  in- 
curred, not  only  is  dissatisfaction  with  govern- 
ment created  at  home,  but  the  fair  fame  of  the 
State  is  tarnished  abroad. 

And  more  than  this.  While  the  corporation  is 
able  to  continue  as  a  going  concern,  the  struggle 
to  pay  interest  on  such  an  immense  fictitious  debt, 
and  pay  dividends  on  stock  so  issued  besides, 
leads  necessarily  to  constant  efforts  to  reduce  all 
ordinary  expenses  of  operation,  and  among  the 
rest  to  cut  the  wages  of  employes  to  the  greatest 

120 


37 

degree  possible.  Discontent  is  thus  engendered 
among  the  bodies  of  laborers  employed,  and  if  the 
strike  is  not  precipitated,  many  are  thrown  out  of 
employment  who  otherwise  it  would  be  desirable 
to  have  at  work,  and  the  State  again  suffers  from 
the  feeling  that  it  is  not  adequate  to  control  the 
wrongdoers,  and  who  are  dealing  out  injustice  to 
those  by  whose  favor  their  privileges  have  been 
bestowed. 

Why  this  evil  is  allowed  to  continue  and  repeat 
its  work  as  it  does,  constantly,  it  is  hard  to  con- 
ceive. With  the  power  of  the  State  to  prevent 
it ;  with  the  people,  those  with  capital  and  those 
who  labor,  the  sufferers  from  it;  and  both  means 
and  motive  at  hand  to  govern,  yet  the  State  does 
not  govern.  It  would  be  far  easier  to  have  a 
board  to  pass  upon  the  right  to  issue  bonds  or 
incur  engagements  for  liabilities  to  others,  which 
should  proceed  on  thorough  investigation  of  values 
of  the  property  and  already  existing  debts,  if  any, 
by  making  whose  certificate  of  a  sufficiency  of 
assets  to  justify  the  indebtedness  proposed  a 
necessity,  would  restrain  the  corporations  either 

121 


38 

dishonest,  reckless  or  injudicious  action  in  such 
matters,  than  to  have  those  other  boards  so  preva- 
lent in  many  States  who  investigate  and  appraise 
the  properties  for  taxation  or  determine  the  rates 
and  charges  permissible  for  transportation.  In- 
deed it  would  seem  the  natural  order  of  govern- 
ment to  prevent  the  creation  of  indebtedness 
based  on  fictitious  values,  prior  to  and  with  a  view 
to  render  easy  and  desirable  lower  freights  where 
they  are  deemed  too  high,  and  there  is  a  constant 
struggle  over  the  question  of  whether  they  are 
just  and  reasonable. 

"The  visitorial  or  superintending  power  of  the 
State  over  corporations  created  by  the  legislature 
may  always  be  exercised,  in  proper  cases,  through 
the  medium  of  the  courts  of  the  State,  to  keep 
corporations  within  the  limits  of  their  lawful 
powers  and  to  correct  and  punish  abuses  of  their 
franchises.  To  this  end  the  courts  will  issue  writs 
of  quo  warranto,  mandamus  or  injunction,  as  the 
exigencies  of  the  particular  case  require  ;  will  in- 
quire into  the  grievance  complained  of,  and,  if 
the  same  is  found  to  exist,  will  apply  such  remedy 

122 


39 

as  the  law  prescribes.  Every  corporation  of  the 
State,  whether  public  or  private,  civil  or  munici- 
pal, is  subject  to  this  superintending  control,  al- 
though in  its  exercise  different  rules  may  be  ap- 
plied to  different  classes  of  corporations."  * 

It  is  to  this  evil,  also,  that  is  to  be  ascribed  the 
dissatisfaction  now  prevalent  with  the  adminis- 
tration of  railroads  through  receiverships  by  the 
United  States  Courts.  These  cases,  as  we 
have  seen,  come  into  the  United  States  Courts 
because  of  the  particular  decisions  made  by  the 
Supreme  Court  itself  to  the  effect  that  corpora- 
tions can  sue  or  be  sued  in  these  courts  the  same 
as  individual  citizens  can  be,  and  for  the  reason 
that  the  members  of  a  corporation  will,  for  the 
purposes  of  jurisdiction,  be  conclusively  presumed 
to  be  all  citizens  of  the  State  where  the  corpora- 
tion is  created,  and  on  this  footing,  the  corpora- 
tion can  sue  or  be  sued  by  a  citizen  of  another 
State  or  a  corporation  of  another  State,  in  the 
United  States  tribunals.  The  suits  in  equity 
are  almost  all  brought  for  the  foreclosure  of  mort- 


*  State  v.  Milwaukee  Chamber  of  Commerce,  47  Wis.  670-680. 
123 


40 

gages — the  mortgages  of  the  very  class  of  which 
we  have  been  speaking,  and  where  there  is  a 
professed  and  actual  inability  to  pay,  and  where 
a  sale  of  all  the  property  of  the  company  is  con- 
templated. The  receivers  appointed  by  the 
Court  have  the  power  to  cut  off  all  leases  that 
are  deemed  undesirable  for  the  road  in  hand,  and 
the  bondholders  secured  on  the  leased  property 
are  left  to  their  own  devices  to  realize  on  these 
separated  properties.  The  receivers  are  allowed 
to  incur  liabilities,  which  are  indeed  the  debts  of 
the  court  itself,  and  therefore,  take  priority  in 
lien  over  the  very  mortgage  being  foreclosed,  and 
depreciate  these  bonds  still  more,  while  a  very 
great  sum  in  cash  has  to  be  paid  the  receivers 
themselves  for  their  services,  to  the  master  in 
chancery,  and  still  other  sums  to  the  solicitors  of 
different  interests  represented ;  and  after  all  these 
are  paid  the  remainder  of  the  proceeds  is  dis- 
tributed to  the  bondholders  of  the  foreclosed 
mortgage.  During  the  years  that  the  receiver- 
ship is  progressing  to  these  ends,  the  railroad  is 
kept  a  going  concern,  both  because  it  has  a  pub- 

124 


41 

lie  business  to  carry  on  and  because  it  is  deemed 
it  will  so  bring  more  at  the  sale  as  a  going  con- 
cern than  it  would  were  it  allowed  to  lie  unop- 
erated.  Delays  are  proverbially  dangerous,  and 
so  it  has  not  infrequently  happened  that  during 
those  attendant  upon  foreclosure,  strikes  by  labor 
organizations  occur  and  either  directly  or  indirectly 
involve  the  particular  property  in  the  custody  of 
the  court,  and  thereupon  the  court  issues  its  writ 
of  injunction  forbidding  all  persons  from  interfer 
ing  with  the  property  it  for  the  time  controls,  and 
as  has  sometimes  happened  also  writs  of  assist- 
ance to  support  the  receiver.  Under  the  writ  of 
injuction  arrests  may  be  made  of  all  violating  it, 
as  in  contempt  of  court,  and  the  writ  of  assist- 
ance may  call  forth  the  whole  executive  power  of 
the  government. 

The  country  is  now  agitated  by  the  discussion 
of  the  justice  or  necessity  of  these  judicial  pro- 
ceedings which  end,  under  the  circumstances  men- 
tioned, in  arrest  and  punishment  by  fine  and 
imprisonment  of  offenders  upon  investigation  by 
the  Court,  without  intervention  of  a  jury  trial, 

125 


42 

and  without  review  by  any  other  tribunal  if  the 
Court  originally  acting  has  had  jurisdiction,  and 
so  we  have  the  cry  against  government  by  injunc- 
tion. Without  at  this  point  entering  into  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  merits  of  this  controversy,  the  fact 
remains  that  in  most  instances  these  stringent 
remedies  by  judicial  proceedings  are  directly  the 
result  of  the  original  wrong  of  an  unjust  not  to 
say  dishonest  creation  of  indebtedness  and  because 
the  bankrupt  concern  is  taken  into  the  United 
States  Courts.  These  courts  thus  incur  the  dis- 
like of  both  the  great  number  of  bondholders  who 
suffer  such  great  loss  from  the  inadequacy  of  their 
security  and  the  very  great  expense  of  realizing 
on  what  they  have,  and  on  the  other  hand  of 
those  who,  however  misguided  and  unreasonable 
feel  the  heavy  hand  of  authority  laid  upon  them 
for  their  illegal  and  indefensible  proceedings.  A 
judge  of  the  United  States  Circuit  Court,  of 
judgment  and  experience,  in  a  recent  address 
before  the  American  Bar  Association,  has  pointed 
out  the  injurious  effect  of  these  causes  upon  the 
esteem,  respect  and  obedience  heretofore  given  by 

126 


43 

all  the  people  to  our  national  judiciary,  and  he 
therein,  among  many  other  valuable  suggestions, 
remarks : 

"The  abuses  which  too  liberal  charters  and 
insufficient  visitorial  power  permit,  are  either  for 
the  State  Legislatures  or  the  State  Executive  and 
Courts,  by  quo  warranto  to  correct  and  remedy. 
State  laws  which  should  forbid  the  issue  of  stock 
or  the  issue  of  bonds  by  any  corporation  until 
after  an  examination  by  a  State  Board  of  Su- 
pervision into  the  affairs  of  the  company,  and  a 
certificate  that  the  assets  justify  it,  would  do  much 
in  this  direction.  The  Federal  Courts  can  do 
nothing  to  prevent  such  abuses,  and  their  action 
is  not  usually  invoked  until  the  evil  is  done,  and 
only  a  bankrupt  estate  is  left  to  administer." 

This  is  certainly  true,  but  how  great  is  the  con- 
demnation thereby  implied  of  the  want  of  good 
faith  if  not  absolute  dishonesty,  of  the  corporation 
management,  which  unless  so  checked,  is  prone 
to  heap  up  the  indebtedness  from  which  the  bank- 
ruptcy comes.  Such  course  of  conduct  by  indi 
viduals  in  their  private  affairs  would  bring  down 

127 


44 

upon  them  the  utter  condemnation  of  society; 
how  much  more  do  they  violate  their  obligations 
who  have  been  favored  with  the  State's  confidence 
that  they  will  work  for  the  public  welfare  and 
through  this  confidence  have  had  conferred  upon 
them  some  of  the  highest  attributes  of  sovereignty, 
and  of  the  privileges  of  citizenship.  What  greater 
wrong  than  to  inflict  upon  the  goverment  and  its 
courts  the  slightest  suspicion  of  weakness  or  injus- 
tice in  them. 

To  restrain  this  evil  would  harm  no  one,  but 
would  protect  all,  even  the  wrongdoers  them- 
selves. It  would  prevent  no  construction  of  any 
roads  that  could  have  a  claim  to  exist,  retard  no 
development  of  the  country,  for  that  would  be 
taken  up  by  those  just  as  capable  and  more  trust- 
worthy and  it  would  be  only  so  much  interference 
by  the  State  as  its  dignity  and  claim  to  the  con- 
fidence of  its  constituents  demand.  Looking  to 
those  companies  where  the  financial  management 
has  been  just,  we  find  peace  and  abiding  security, 
turning  to  those  where  it  has  been  unjust  and 
indefensible  we  find  bankruptcy,  litigation,  com- 

128 


45 

motion  and  State  degradation.  The  axe  should 
be  laid  at  the  root  of  this  obvious  and  still  con- 
tinuing evil,  and  the  obligation  to  conduct  honestly 
the  financial  operations  of  the  corporation  should 
be  stringently  enforced. 

There  is  another  obligation  directly  connected 
with  that  already  discussed,  of  no  less  binding 
force,  but  where  there  is  exhibited  a  like  disposi- 
tion of  evasion.  If  the  considerations  we  have 
presented  have  weight  in  illustrating  the  obliga- 
tion resting  upon  those  corporations  to  be  more 
just  in  incurring  obligations  voluntarily,  they 
should  willingly  and  promptly  respond  to  the  bur- 
den of  taxation,  according  to  the  value  of  their 
property,  under  the  laws  imposing  it  on  the 
possessions  of  all  in  the  State  and  proportion- 
ately. Yet  it  has  been  a  strange  anomaly  in  our 
times  that  the  very  property  that  the  corporation 
itself  estimates  so  highly  when  it  is  issuing  its 
bonds  and  mortgages,  it  immediately,  when  called 
before  the  taxing  assessors,  depreciates  to  an  ex- 
tent that  puts  it  in  value  proportionately  below 
that  of  individuals.  The  assessor  imposes  upon 

129 


46 

the  lot  and  house  of  a  citizen  a  value  for  taxation 
often  quite  as  high  as  it  could  be  sold  for  and  cer- 
tainly as  high  as  it  could  be  mortgaged  for,  and 
the  burden  has  to  be  met  with  short  discussion. 
But  it  is  not  so  with  the  railroad  corporation. 
The  Board  of  Assessors  meet,  the  companies  in- 
terested are  assembled  and  arguments  are  heard, 
value  for  the  most  part  lessened  and  a  result  at- 
tained that  even  at  the  lowest  is  resisted,  and  the 
courts,  one  after  another  to  the  highest,  resorted 
to  in  the  hope  that  somewhere  and  somehow  the 
obligation  may  be  avoided  or  diminished.  This 
has  been  the  case  where  only  the  tangible  prop- 
erty of  the  companies  has  been  the  subject  of 
taxation.  But  when  the  States  determined  to  in 
elude  the  franchises  enjoyed  the  conflict  deep- 
ened. Yet  it  has  been  the  frequently  determined 
and  announced  law  that  these  franchises  are  only 
grants  from  the  State,  but  they  are  protected  by 
constitutional  limitations  the  same  as  any  other 
property. 

"  Corporate  franchises  are  legal  estate  and  not 
mere  naked  powers  granted  to  the  corporation, 

130 


47 

but  powers  coupled  with  an  interest,  which  rests 
in  the  corporation  by  virtue  of  their  charter ;  and 
the  rule  is  equally  well  settled  that  the  privileges 
and  franchises  of  a  private  corporation,  unless 
exempted  in  terms  that  amount  to  a  contract,  are 
as  much  the  legitimate  subjects  of  taxation  as  any 
other  property  of  the  citizens  within  the  sovereign 
power  of  the  State."  * 

This  opposition  has,  however,  been  justified  in 
many  instances  by  a  disposition  on  the  part  of 
the  State  to  impose  burdens  not  only  unjust,  but 
which,  had  they  been  allowed  to  continue,  would 
have  been  confiscatory  and  a  depreciation  of  prop- 
erty without  due  process  of  law.  The  obligation 
is  mutual  to  make  fair  returns  and  to  make  only 
just  demands.  The  power  of  the  State  has  been 
used  to  protect  the  railroads  from  violence,  and 
citizens  of  all  ages  capable  have  volunteered  to 
serve  in  the  ranks  for  this  purpose.  The  State 
has  a  superlative  right  to  demand  this  property 
shall  bear  its  equal  burden  for  revenue. 


*  State  railroad  tax  cases,  92  U.  S.  575-610. 
131 


48 

Connected  nearly  with  this  reluctance  to  bear 
the  legal  burdens  of  taxation  has  been  that  course 
of  conduct  that  called  into  being  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission.  The  plain  injustice 
practiced,  before  this  restraint  was  imposed,  was 
that  the  charges  or  tolls  imposed,  in  many  in- 
stances, for  transportation,  were  neither  just  nor 
reasonable.  Thus,  the  freight  of  one  man  at  a 
greater  distance  from  the  point  of  destination  was 
charged  less  than  that  of  another  at  a  nearer  dis- 
tance from  the  same  point,  arbitrarily  and  without 
any  attendant  circumstances  to  justify  the  discrimi- 
nation. The  States  were  first  aroused  to  control 
by  legislation  this  and  kindred  unjust  corporate 
actions ;  and  at  length  the  United  States  estab- 
lished the  commission  for  the  same  purpose,  known 
as  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission.  "  It  is 
competent  for  the  State  for  traffic  wholly  within 
the  State,  either  by  direct  legislative  acts  or  by 
the  instrumentality  of  a  commission,  to  superin- 
tend railroads  as  public  highways,  to  require  them 
to  report  their  tariffs  of  charges,  and  subject  them 
to  revision,  and  to  impose  reasonable  regulations 

132 


49 

in  respect  to  their  fares  and  charges  ;  but  not  to 
impose  unreasonable  charges,  so  as  to  be  con- 
fiscatory  and  so  in  violation  of  the  Fourteenth 
Amendment  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  as  being  a  deprivation  of  property  without 
due  process  of  law  or  a  denial  of  the  equal  protec- 
tion of  the  laws." 

"The  Interstate  Commerce  act  looks  to  the 
prevention  of  discrimination,  to  the  furn:shing  of 
equal  facilities  for  the  interchange  of  traffic,  to 
the  rate  of  compensation  for  what  is  termed  the 
long  and  the  short  haul,  to  the  attainment  of  a 
continuous  passage  from  the  point  of  shipment  to 
the  point  of  destination,  at  a  known  or  published 
schedule,"  and  "  without  reference  to  those  points 
on  the  line  over  which  it  is  necessary  for  the 
traffic  to  pass  ;  "  to  procuring  uniformity  of  rates 
charged  by  each  company  to  its  patrons  and  to 
other  objects  of  a  similar  nature. 

The  act  was  not  directed  to  the  securing  of 
uniformity  of  rates  to  be  charged  by  competing 
companies,  nor  was  there  any  provision  therein 
as  to  the  maximum  or  minimum  rates. 

(4)  133 


50 

And,  finally,  on  this  head,  we  notice  that  com- 
bination of  railroad  corporations  either  directly  or 
indirectly  combining  to  fix  charges  to  be  exacted, 
and  which,  among  other  combinations  of  like  kind 
by  other  corporate  bodies,  gave  rise  to  the  legis- 
lation, State  rind  national,  termed  anti-trust  laws. 

In  U.S.  v.  Feight  Assn.,  U.  S.  166,  319,  the 
Court  made  the  following  comment : 

"It  is  said  *  *  *  *  that  a  number  of 
combinations  in  the  form  of  trusts  and  conspira- 
cies in  restraint  of  trade  were  to  be  found  through- 
out the  country,  and  it  was  impossible  for  the 
State  arid  government  to  successfully  cope  with 
them  because  of  their  commercial  character  and 
their  business  extension  through  the  different 
States  of  the  Union.  Among  these  trusts,  it  was 
said  in  Congress,  were  the  Beef  Trust,  the  Stan- 
dard Oil  Trust,  the  Steel  Trust,  the  Barbed  Wire 
Fence  Trust,  the  Sugar  Trust,  the  Cordage  Trust, 
the  Cottonseed  Oil  Trust,  the  Whiskey  Trust, 
and  many  others  ;  and  these  trusts,  it  was  stated, 
had  assumed  an  importance,  and  had  acquired  a 
power  which  was  dangerous  to  the  whole  country, 

134 


and  their  existence  was  directly  antagonistic  to 
its  peace  and  prosperity." 

And  again  : 

"Railways  are  public  corporations  organized 
for  public  purposes,  granted  valuable  franchises 
and  privileges,  among  which  the  right  to  take 
the  private  property  of  citizens  in  invitum  is  not 
the  least  ;  that  many  of  them  are  the  donees  of 
large  tracts  of  public  lands  and  gifts  of  money 
by  municipal  corporations,  and  that  they  owe 
duties  to  the  public  of  a  higher  nature  even  than 
that  of  earning  large  dividends  for  their  share- 
holders. The  business  that  railroads  do  is  of  a 
public  nature,  closely  affecting  almost  all  classes 
in  the  community,  the  farmer,  the  artisan,  the 
manufacturer  and  the  trader.  It  is  of  such  a 
public  nature  that  it  may  well  be  doubted,  to  say 
the  least,  whether  any  contract  which  imposes 
any  restraint  upon  its  business  would  not  be  prej- 
udiced to  the  public  interest.  This  occasion  does 
not  permit  a  discussion  in  detail  of  the  merits  of 
the  defense  to  these  last  named  delinquencies  ; 
and  we  must  rest  for  our  right  to  mention  them 


135 


52 

as  such  upon  the  decisions  of  the  courts  that  they 
are  existing  illegalities,  and  injurious  to  the  public 
welfare." 

The  obligation  to  take  all  precautions  available 
for  the  protection  of  the  lives  of  passengers  and 
employes  ;  to  be  just  in  wages,  and  many  others 
that  might  be  presented  are  passed,  as  time  will 
not  allow  their  discussion. 

Having  thus  considered  some  of  the  obligations 
of  the  railroad  corporations,  our  subject  requires 
us  to  turn  to  those  of  the  people  towards  these 
creations  of  the  State.  The  people  may  be  con- 
templated either  as  organized  'in  the  State,  or  as 
the  unorganized  mass  of  the  community  composed 
of  the  individual  citizens,  and  let  us  first  consider 
it  in  the  latter  condition,  for  further  on  and  in 
conclusion  we  will  have  to  speak  of  the  State  as 
the  collected  will,  supreme  over  all  in  executive 
power. 

This  people  may  be  deemed  to  hold  that  field 
of  right  and  action  lying  between  the  supreme 
constituted  authority  and  the  organizations  under 
it,  and  that  in  which  is  reserved  all  the  power  un- 


53 

delegated  to  the  State.  This  authority  constitu- 
tional government  requires  should  be  exercised 
under  due  forms  of  the  law  ordained  to  give  ex- 
pression to  the  popular  will,  and  yielding  willing 
submission  to  the  ordinance  established  and  to  be 
administered  for  the  welfare  of  all. 

A  fundamental  obligation  here  existing  is  for 
the  people  to  protect  itself  by  an  intelligent  study 
of  the  benefits  conferred  by  government  and  just 
application  of  its  principles  to  perpetuate  these 
and  to  eradicate  and  prevent  the  evils  affecting 
society  or  threatening  its  welfare.  It  is  an  obli- 
gation resting  on  every  one  under  a  free  govern- 
ment to  learn  the  needs  of  the  people  and  to  ap- 
ply through  a  personal  exercise  of  the  right  of 
suffrage  the  measures  necessary  for  their  ad- 
vancement or  protection.  The  neglect  to  meet 
this  obligation  is  the  source  of  most  of  the  evils 
of  which  society  to-day  complains,  in  that  it 
allows  opportunity  for  injustice  and  corruption 
without  remedy  or  punishment.  It  is  indeed  true, 
as  has  been  aptly  and  justly  stated  by  an  emi- 
nent statesman,  that  "we  too  much  rely  upon 

137 


54 

the  government  running  itself,"  and  when  dissat- 
isfaction arises  from  its  imperfect  working  we  re- 
sort to  an  almost  despairing  criticism  of  its  useful- 
ness, or  to  violent  and  illegal  means  for  correction. 
The  individual  citizen  demands  for  himself  the 
protection,  under  the  law,  of  his  life,  liberty  and 
property,  and  for  these,  by  resistance,  war  and 
convention,  guarantees  have  been  created  and 
embodied  in  written  constitutions.  But  these 
guarantees  are  safe  only  under  that  other  resting 
with  the  people — eternal  vigilance,  that  guaranty 
of  guaranties.  They  must  watch  for  and  protect 
the  benefits  evolved,  as  much  as  challenge  and 
repel  approaching  evils.  This  vigilance  should 
be  enlivened  by  a  sense  of  justice  to  the  rights  of 
all.  If  impelled  by  prejudice,  distorted  by  cor- 
ruption or  slothful  from  indifference,  the  voting 
power  in  a  republic  is  represented  by  ignorance 
or  the  enemies  of  the  very  reforms  demanded. 
The  fault  is  not  in  government,  but  the  governed, 
and  the  trust  reposed  in  the  citizen  is  betrayed. 
It  is  betrayed  as  to  society,  as  that  is  evilly 
affected ;  and  the  trust  is  most  basely  betrayed 


55 

as  the  welfare  of  future  generations  is  endan- 
gered. It  is  a  crying  complaint  of  the  day  that 
our  city  municipal  governments,  our  State  legis- 
lation and  even  our  National  Congress  are  influ- 
enced by  corrupt  manipulation  of  members  of 
.these  representative  bodies.  In  so  far  as  corpo- 
rations are  instrumental  in  securing  this  criminal 
and  destructive  conduct,  they  should  be  utterly 
condemned,  and  if  their  influences  to  such  ends 
can  not  be  otherwise  stopped,  they  themselves 
should  be  destroyed.  It  would  be  better  that 
every  benefit  they  confer  should  be  rejected  and 
other  instrumentalities  for  our  advancement  se- 
cured than  that  the  foundations  of  impartial  and 
exact  justice  should  be  impaired  or  discredited. 
The  remedies  already  exist  and  their  application 
with  the  unsparing  severity  should  be  demanded 
wherever  guilt  in  corporation  action  is  apparent. 
But  if  the  people's  representatives  are  chosen  for 
the  public  welfare  and  not  to  support  some  pri- 
vate advantage,  there  will  be  no  opportunity  for 
the  corruptionist.  There  is  an  obligation  resting 
on  us  all,  commensurate  with  our  duty  to  our- 

139 


56 

selves,  and  indeed  under  governmental  forms  in- 
volved in  it.  The  Constitutions  under  which  we 
live  have  been  established  by  great  sacrifices  and 
are  the  result  of  vast  experience  by  our  race. 
And  it  is  our  chief  obligation  to  maintain  them 
with  fidelity  and  courage.  To  corporations  within 
the  meaning  of  the  words  as  used  in  the  consti- 
tution, life  and  liberty  can  not  be  aptly  applied, 
as  they  are  when  contemplated  as  the  rights  of 
individuals.  But  corporate  bodies  are  entitled 
to  their  legal  exercise  of  such  franchises  as  are 
bestowed,  and  in  regard  to  property,  including 
their  franchises,  they  are,  equally  with  the  indi- 
vidual, entitled  to  the  full  protection  of  the  law 
of  the  land.  The  obligation  to  regard  these  rights 
rests  upon  others  the  same  as  in  relation  to  indi 
viduals.  Indeed  there  is  not  only  the  same  legal 
obligation,  but  the  moral  obligation  is  just  as  con- 
trolling ;  for  after  all,  the  corporation  is  composed 
of  individuals,  and  these  have  involved  in  the 
security  of  the  corporate  body  their  personal  wel- 
fare. Moreover,  there  can  be  no  impairment  of 
a  guaranteed  right  under  the  law  by  either  a  law- 

140 


57 

less  attack  upon  it  or  a  refusal  to  recognize  it  be- 
cause belonging  to  an  owner  of  one  kind  of  prop- 
erty or  another  without  it  affects  the  same  right 
in  others  and  in  regard  to  other  property. 

There  is  no  safety  to  the  people  in  the  action  of 
those  who  demand  there  shall  be  changes  made  in 
the  long-established  and  hitherto  well-recognized 
forms  of  procedure  in  the  courts  by  which  the 
guarantees  of  the  Constitution  have  been  en- 
forced, merely  because  under  the  peculiar  circum- 
stances of  our  own  immediate  times,  calling  them 
into  exercise,  these  forms  have  exhibited  great 
efficiency.  These  circumstances  have  been  them- 
selves most  extraordinary  and  threatening  to  the 
public  peace,  and  to  the  action  of  the  lawless  in 
every  instance  is  to  be  justly  attributed  the  extra- 
ordinary remedies  used  by  the  courts  for  the  main- 
tenance of  property  and  government.  The  proc- 
esses used  have  not  been  novel.  Their  origin 
has  been  traced  to  the  times  long  past,  and  their 
application  as  recently  used  approved  by  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  United  States.  They  are  a 
part  of  the  law  of  the  land.  They  have  been 

141 


58 

known  to  all  the  people  when  the  guaranties  we 
enjoy  were  ordained  by  their  representatives,  and 
may  be  fairly  said  to  be  a  part  thereof.  The  writ 
of  injunction  that  prohibits  a  lawless  attack  upon 
property,  or  a  reckless  obstruction  of  the  functions 
of  government,  has  proven  an  efficient  process  of 
the  law  to  secure  at  least  a  fair  hearing  on  the  merits 
of  the  case,  and  prevent  the  destruction  in  advance 
of  the  very  central  right  to  be  brought  before  the 
court  for  its  consideration  and  determination.  It 
has  not  been  passionately  or  inopportunely  re- 
sorted to,  and  it  has  wronged  no  man.  What 
person,  against  whom  the  proceeding  has  been 
had,  has  established  or  sought  to  maintain  that 
he  was  innocent  of  any  conduct  lawfully  subject- 
ing him  to  its  power?  The  right  of  the  courts  of 
chancery  to  issue  the  writ  of  injunction  and  to  try 
by  the  court  itself,  violators  of  its  command,  with- 
out appeal,  has  grown  up  along  with  the  right  of 
trial  by  jury.  They  are  both  results  of  the  same 
experience  and  wisdom,  and  equally  entitled  to 
our  confidence  as  a  means  of  administering  justice. 
Proceedings  by  and  under  the  writ  of  injunction 

142 


59 

are  objected  to,  chiefly,  it  would  seem,  because  of 
their  efficacy  to  determine  the  guilt  of  and  punish 
the  offender.  The  complaint  seems  to  be  not, 
indeed,  that  any  one  has  been  unjustly  condemned, 
but  that  some,  if  they  had  only  had  a  jury  to  try 
them,  might  have  escaped  in  any  event.  It  has, 
indeed,  been  speedy,  but  only  where  forces  were 
to  be  met  that  were  arrayed  and  rapidly  proceed- 
ing to  lawless  and  destructive  results.  Where 
there  is  no  considerable  portion  of  the  community 
interested  in  the  result,  other  than  that  justice 
should  be  done,  it  is  often  difficult  to  secure  a  ver 
diet,  because  of  the  unanimity  required  to  produce 
it.  Taking  a  time  and  locality  of  great  commotion 
among  the  people,  affecting  the  commerce  and 
social  intercourse  not  only  of  one  section,  but  of 
the  whole  country,  now  so  interdependent  in 
every  part  upon  the  harmony  of  the  whole,  and 
have  it  the  law  that  whatever  necessity  the  court 
may  be  convinced  exists  for  restraining  an  alleged 
interference  with  the  constitutional  rights  of  a 
part  of  the  people,  it  may,  indeed,  issue  its  re- 
straining order,  but  all  violators  of  it  must  be  tried 


6o 

by  jury  with  right  of  appeal,  and  who  does  not 
believe  that  the  writ  will  be  ineffectual,  because 
its  violation  will  have  no  sufficient  and  immediate 
penalty  that  men  so  arrayed  and  aggressive  in 
great  numbers  will  for  a  moment  regard.  The 
plea  for  the  trial  by  jury  in  such  cases  is  to  over- 
throw the  restraint  that  should  be  imposed  on 
those  who  would  condemn  without  hearing,  pro- 
ceed without  judicial  inquiry,  and  having  substan- 
tially destroyed  the  right  of  the  opposing  party, 
expect  the  merits  of  the  claim  to  be  adjudicated 
afterwards,  if  at  all.  This  method  is  akin  to  that 
which  would  disarm  the  State  from  protecting  its 
courts,  its  mails,  its  treasury  or  any  of  its  prop- 
erty by  its  own  right  hand,  and  compel  it  to  await 
the  consent  of  its  constituents  whether  States  or 
citizens.  This  is  not  the  safe  or  reasonable  means 
of  government.  There  is  just  as  much  need  of  a 
preservation  of  the  subject  of  controversy  by  pre- 
venting its  destruction  as  of  adjudicating  ultimately 
to  whom  the  same  belongs. 

There  is,  however,  above  and  beyond  all  these 
obligations  on  the  one  side  and  on  the  other,  a 


144 


6i 

mutual  obligation  resting  upon  citizens  among 
themselves,  of  corporations,  and  of  the  States  of 
the  Union  and  the  National  Government,  of 
greater  forbearance  and  conciliation,  one  towards 
another.  We  stand  among  the  nations  of  the 
world  as  a  self-governing  people,  and  for  an  hun- 
dred years  and  more  we  have  maintained  with 
wonderful  success  a  constitutional  republic.  The 
Constitution  was  framed  on  compromises.  States, 
small  and  great,  were  given  for  the  most  part 
equal  power  to  control  legislation ;  local  institu- 
tions unapproved  by  other  sections  were  left 
unchallenged  where  they  were ;  the  public  lands, 
owned  by  some  of  the  States,  were  bestowed  upon 
the  United  States,  and  to  the  National  Govern- 
ment was  given  the  control  of  the  interstate 
commerce  and  that  with  foreign  nations.  There 
was  a  confidence  reposed  in  the  governments  of  the 
States  and  of  the  United  States  that  they  would 
administer  public  affairs  in  justice*  and  with  loy- 
alty to  the  republican  system.  Where  franchises 
were  given  by  the  State  it  was  in  the  belief  that 
they  would  be  exercised  for  the  public  good.  And 


145 


62 

to  the  people  was  reserved  the  power  of  correct- 
ing all  evils,  through  the  people's  virtue,  intelli- 
gence and  right  of  suffrage.  And  being  one 
people,  seeking  and  enjoying  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  our  waste  places  were  rapidly  occupied, 
and  neighborly  feeling  was  not  confined  by  State 
lines,  but  expanded  through  all  the  land.  There 
were  political  parties,  fierce  and  aggressive  in  the 
assertion  of  their  respective  principles,  but  there 
were  no  classes;  those  who  lived  on  their  in- 
comes were  not  separated  from  those  who  de- 
pended on  daily  labor.  We  prospered  because 
we  were  at  peace  with  ourselves,  and  had  a 
hearty  fellow-citizen  attachment  for  each  other. 
It  has  resulted  that  under  so  much  and  well  pro- 
tected liberty  of  individual  action,  the  vast  re- 
sources of  our  continent  in  their  development 
have  made  some  rich,  a  few  wonderfully  so ;  but 
surely  no  part  of  our  countrymen  are  poorer  than 
were  a  proportionate  part  of  our  fathers ;  nor, 
indeed,  so  poor  as  they,  in  either  material  posses- 
sions or  in  all  the  conveniences  of  social  inter- 
course and  personal  enjoyment.  Those  now 

146 


63 

deemed  by  some  'as  in  the  control  of  unwarranted 
privileges  of  wealth  and  consequent  influence, 
are  the  sons  and  descendants,  in  most  instances, 
of  the  poor  of  our  earlier  days ;  and  it  is  open  to 
common  observation  that  the  changes  of  fortune 
are  so  rapid  in  America  as  to  justify  no  man  in 
designating  as  a  permanent  class,  or  a  class  to 
last  from  one  generation  to  another,  either  the 
rich  or  the  poor.  The  mouth  of  the  demagogue 
even,  as  he  stirs  up  strife  against  others,  is  often 
closed  by  the  advent  to  himself  of  sufficient  wealth 
to  make  him  conservative  and  silent.  There  is 
no  public  opinion  to  support  the  attempted  dis- 
crimination of  class  from  class.  Public  opinion 
does  not  mean  the  opinion  of  a  party  or  a  section 
or  a  portion  of  the  community.  It  is  the  opinion 
of  the  mass  of  the  people  of  all  conditions,  and  it 
is  based  upon  the  appreciation  of  fundamental 
truths  acknowledged  by  all.  It  is  a  power  more 
potent  than  physical  force,  and  it  carries  with  it 
peace  and  charity.  This  public  opinion  exists 
and  it  is  in  favor  of  the  Republic,  and  refuses  to 
act  upon  the  pretention  that  because  some  differ 

147 


64 

from  others  in  talents  and  possession  we  are  not 
all  fellow-citizens,  or  that  this  government  can 
not  or  will  not  be  borne  safely  through  another 
century.  It  believes  it  will,  and  for  many  an- 
other century  after  this.  It  has  been  demon- 
strated, both  in  Europe  and  our  own  country, 
that  when  formerly  resort  was  made  to  strikes 
and  lockouts,  boycotts  and  riots  to  attain  the  ends 
of  employer  or  employed,  and  where  even  arbi- 
tration as  a  remedy  failed,  the  system  of  concilia- 
tion has  been  and  continues  to  be  effective  to 
allay  antagonism  and  secure  all  parties  in  the  em- 
ployment of  their  mutual  rights  and  enforce  their 
mutual  obligations.  This  system  or  principle  of 
conciliation  is  that  by  which  the  discontented  par- 
ties are  brought  to  a  mutual  conference,  to  talk 
over  their  differences,  not  with  a  view  that  one 
shall  control  or  rule  or  out-influence  or  out-vote 
the  other,  but  that  all  may  come  to  a  fair  under- 
standing of  the  trouble  existing  and  consult  upon 
a  means  of  adjustment.-  Let  this  principle  be  ex- 
tended to  all  such  controversies,  and  an  era  of 
good  will  will  ere  long  leave  to  the  demagogue 

148 


65 

but  little  of  the  prejudice,  passion  and  ignorance 
upon  which  only  he  can  thrive  and  disturb  com- 
munities. We  may  find  it  difficult  to  obtain  a 
general  acceptation  of  this  system  for  a  while, 
for  we  have  so  many  inhabitants  now  imported 
who  have  not  yet  become  imbued  with  a  love  or 
knowledge  of  either  our  customs,  our  affairs  or 
our  republican  principles,  that  they  can  not  be  ex- 
pected to  be  influenced  to  any  considerable  degree 
by  a  love  of  our  country  or  an  appreciation  of  our 
government.  But  the  American  spirit  yet  domi- 
nates our  nation,  and  will  yet  bring  into  harmony 
and  health  all  these  discordant  and  dangerous  ele- 
ments. Men  of  affairs  everywhere  are  politic. 
They  know  that  ultimately  success  must  rest 
upon  that  good  will  which  comes  from  a  mutual 
recognition  of  each  other's  rights. 

But,  in  conclusion,  let  us  not  deceive  ourselves 
by  hugging  to  our  bosoms  delusive  hopes  that 
physical  force  can  be  dispensed  with  altogether. 

The  State  must  be  supreme,  and  where  nothing 
but  force  will  serve,  must  be  used  to  preserve  the 
law  and  order,  and  to  require  that  changes,  if  to 

(5)  149 


66 

be  made  at  all,  shall  proceed  along  the  well- 
marked  paths  the  constitution  itself  provides. 
The  ballot-box,  the  legislative  bodies,  the  con- 
vention, the  orderly  expression  of  the  will  of  the 
majority  of  all  the  citizens,  are  the  only  legal 
means  by  which  the  principles  of  some  may  be 
made  binding  upon  all.  Whatever  obligations 
exist  and  however  flagrantly  disregarded  by  those 
upon  whom  they  rest,  they  can*  be  enforced  only 
through  the  forms  of  legal  procedure.  Whatever 
rights  men  may  be  entitled  to,  and  however  vio- 
lated, their  protection  must  be  sought  through  the 
courts  and  under  the  sanction  of  the  law.  To 
this  end  is  the  State  created  and  armed  with 
power.  It  must  maintain  and  enforce  the  law  as 
it  is.  It  guards  the  weak  and  restrains  the  strong 
until  disputed  claims  may  be  adjusted.  The  pur- 
pose is  peace  and  security,  but  if  violence  is  re- 
sorted to  to  defeat  this  purpose,  it  becomes  the 
most  violent  and  restores  quiet  by  superlative 
aggression  and  force.  It  maintains  itself  by  pro- 
tecting the  community.  It  has  the  first  and  pre- 
eminent right  to  be  and  to  be  respected.  Beneath 


150 


67 

its  protection  all  are  equal  in  right,  and  beneath 
its  power  none  can  impose  opinions  upon  others 
by  them  unrecognized  and  unassented  to.  Its 
voice  is  law,  and  on  the  field  of  violence  its  injunc- 
tion is  the  bayonet.  The  fathers  of  our  republic, 
the  people  of  this  nation,  have  hitherto  prospered 
most  because  of  a  reverence  for  law,  and  because 
any  resort  to  violence  was  condemned  utterly  as 
unrepublican  and  un-American.  Let  us  not  lose 
this  reverence.  There  is  no  reason  why  we 
should.  Our  courts  have  done  nothing  in  secret ; 
their  opinions,  when  most  criticised,  have  been 
expressed  plainly  and  upon  reasons  and  authority. 
Those  of  our  National  Supreme  Court  have  been 
worthy  of  its  high  reputation  for  candor  and  im- 
partiality and  a  high  sense  of  justice.  When  dis- 
sent existed  it  has  been  fully  heard  and  expressed. 
Where  change  of  opinion  has  occurred,  it  has  been 
upon  acknowledged  error.  The  American  Courts, 
State  and  National,  are  respected  in  foreign  coun- 
tries for  wisdom,  learning  and  integrity,  We  have 
no  cause  to  disparage  them  at  home.  They  are 
the  product  of  our  republican  system.  Their 


68 

members  are  patriotic  citizens.  Those  of  the 
States,  for  the  most  part,  are  selected  by  the  peo- 
ple themselves  ;  those  of  the  United  States,  ap- 
pointed upon  the  approval  of  the  States  through 
the  Senators  in  Congress.  There  has  been  no 
change  in  the  constitutions  of  any  States  that  have 
come  into  the  Union,  either  at  its  inception  or 
since,  from  the  plan  of  making  the  judiciary  co- 
ordinate with  the  legislative  and  executive  depart- 
ments, and  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  there 
ever  will  be  so  long  as  our  republican  govern- 
mental form  exists.  The  court  is,  and  must  re- 
main, the  sole  expounder  of  the  law,  and  to  the 
enforcement  of  the  law  thus  expounded  and  adju- 
dicated the  State  and  the  people  stand  pledged, 
not  alone  by  the  expressed  constitutional  provi- 
sions, but  also  by  an  intelligent  regard  for  its  own 
safety  of  society.  Let  us,  then,  ourselves  respect 
the  law,  and  demand  that  it  be  obeyed,  even  if  it 
be  respected  not  by  others,  and  let  us  each  per- 
form his  own  obligations,  whether  as  an  individual 
or  in  any  representative  capacity,  and  when  dif- 
ferences arise  let  us  seek  their  peaceful  settlement 


152 


69 

by  conciliation  and  good  will.  But,  if  it  can  not 
be  otherwise,  let  us  maintain  the  State,  its  courts, 
its  laws,  by  whatever  of  power  to  secure  the 
right  God  has  given  us. 


53 


IV. 

RELATION  OF  RAILWAYS  TO  THE 
STATE.* 


ADDISON  C.  HARRIS. 


{purpose  to  discuss   the    relation  of  railways 
to  the  state,  to  the  people,  and  to  their  em- 
ployes.    To-day  the  subject  will   be  that 
of  railways  to  the  state.     By  state,  I  do  not  mean 
simply  an  American  state,  but  rather  the  whole 
people  of  a  body  politic  in  the  sense  of  a  common- 
wealth or  nation. 

Every  community,  savage  or  civilized,  will  in 
some  manner  have  means  of  travel  and  inter- 
communication. The  Indians  made  trails  through 
the  forests.  In  Africa  the  country  is  covered 
with  a  network  of  paths  that  lead  from  village  to 


*  Reported  by  Miss  Merrill. 

155 


village,  and  one  of  the  first  steps  toward  civiliza- 
tion is  the  opening  or  maintenance  of  public  high- 
ways. 

In  the  old  time  when  the  Romans  conquered 
a  people  and  established  a  province,  the  first 
step  was  to  open  up  highways  leading  from  the 
inland  to  the  sea,  so  as  to  provide  a  means  of 
commerce,  and  as  Rome  grew  in  power  and 
wealth  she  established  magnificent  roads  leading 
from  the  capital  city  in  every  direction  through- 
out Italy,  the  most  important  and  best  known 
being  the  Appian  Way,  which  was  three  hun- 
dred years  old  at  the  beginning  of  the  Christian 
era,  and  is  in  use  to-day. 

Many  years  ago  I  was  much  impressed  with 
the  remark  of  an  old  farmer  who  came  to  consult 
me  touching  a  public  road,  and  asked  me  whether 
it  was  not  the  law  that  "every  man  has  a  right 
to  have  a  road  to  meetin',  to  market  and  to 
mill."  This  may  well  be  taken  as  a  maxim,  for 
there  can  be  no  civilization  and  progress  unless 
every  person  in  a  community  has  the  means 
whereby  he  may  find  a  market  for  his  produce, 

156 


and  a  place  where  he  can  exchange  that  which 
he  produces  for  that  which  he  needs. 

It  is  apparent,  therefore,  on  reflection,  that  as 
the  first  step  towards  civilization,  roads  and 
means  of  intercommunication  must  be  opened  and 
maintained.  As  the  individual  can  not  do  this,  it 
naturally  and  conclusively  follows  that  it  must  be 
done  by  the  state.  And  so  it  is  in  the  very 
nature  of  things  the  bounden  duty  of  every  gov- 
ernment to  provide  for  the  use  of  its  people  road- 
ways, so  that  they  may  interchange,  visit  and 
communicate  with  those  about  them.  This  is  so 
essential  and  has  been  so  long  understood  that 
we  no  longer  question  the  power  and  duty  of  the 
state  in  this  regard.  We  see  about  us  on  every 
hand  streets,  township  roads,  county  roads  and 
state  roads,  laid  out  and  maintained  by  the  power 
of  the  state. 

The  general  government,  for  the  purpose  of 
opening  up  the  great  west,  many  years  ago  built 
the  great  highway  known  as  the  National  Road, 
leading  from  the  east  across  the  Ohio  and  Mis- 
sissippi valleys  to  St.  Louis,  and  afterwards  the 

157 


general  government  built  the  great  railways 
reaching  from  the  Missouri  River  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean. 

States  and  communities,  in  like  manner,  in 
various  ways  have  aided  in  the  construction  and 
maintenance  of  railroads  throughout  the  country. 

Is  there  any  difference  between  a  township 
road,  a  county  road,  a  state  road  or  a  national 
road  in  its  relations  to  the  township,  the  county, 
the  state  or  the  nation? 

Each  and  every  roadway  is  an  avenue  estab- 
lished by  law  and  maintained  at  public  expense 
in  some  way,  whereon  the  people  have  a  right, 
without  trespassing  upon  the  rights  of  any  other, 
to  carry  their  product  to  the  market,  and  transact 
the  other  business  of  a  civilized  community. 

It  matters  not  whether  the  road  is  used  as  a 
footway,  a  wagonway  or  a  railway,  or  whether 
the  vehicle  is  a  carriage,  a  stage  coach  or  a  car, 
the  way  must  be  provided  by  the  state.  Neither 
does  it  make  any  difference  whether  the  vehicle 
is  moved  by  animal  power,  steam  or  electricity. 
In  any  case,  regardless  of  the  vehicle  or  of  the 


5 

power,  in  principle  it  is  a  public  road,  established 
and  dedicated  to  public  use. 

In  England  roads  came  to  be  called  the  king's 
highways,  for  the  reason  that  at  a  certain  time 
the  government  assumed  the  duty  of  building  and 
establishing  public  roads  leading  from  London  to 
the  various  cities  and  ports,  and,  it  is  said,  be- 
cause they  were  graded  above  the  common  level 
they  were  called  highways.  And  they  were  the 
king's  highways  for  the  reason  that  they  were 
built  under  the  sovereign  power  of  that  country. 
The  people  are  sovereign  in  this  country  in  the 
person  of  the  government;  in  England,  in  the 
person  of  the  king. 

Now,  if  I  have  made  myself  clear,  we  have  it 
somewhat  tersely  and  briefly  stated  that  a  road  is 
a  highway  for  the  use  of  all,  established  and 
maintained  by  the  sovereign  or  government  for 
the  use  of  the  people. 

Originally,  or  at  least  in  theory,  under  English 
and  American  law,  all  title  is  derived  from  the 
king  or  the  government.  This  implies  that  the 
crown  or  the  state  was  at  first  the  primary  owner  of 


159 


all  the  land  and  country.  And  so  it  is  sometimes 
said  that  when  the  crown  or  state  divides  the 
lands  and  gives  or  sells  them  to  its  citizens,  that, 
by  necessary  implication,  the  government  re- 
served the  right  to  appropriate  and  use  so  much 
of  the  lands  thereafter  as  might  be  necessary  for 
public  roads.  At  most  it  is  within  the  power  and 
duty  of  any  civilized  state  to  appropriate  so  much 
of  any  one's  property  as  may  be  necessary  for 
the  purpose  of  a  public  highway.  This  is  some- 
times called  a  sovereign  right  or  a  governmental 
right.  In  my  profession  we  speak  of  it  as  the 
right  of  eminent  domain ;  that  is  to  say,  the 
prime  or  first  right  which  the  government  has 
over  all  the  country  to  take  so  much  of  it  as  may 
be  necessary,  against  the  consent  of  any  sepa- 
rate and  private  owner,  and  appropriate  it  to  the 
use  of  the  whole  people. 

No  one  doubts  the  right  and  power  of  the  gov- 
ernment to  take  the  property  of  its  citizens,  in 
part  or  all,  in  time  of  war,  if  necessary  for  the 
public  defense  and  the  maintenance  of  the  public 
welfare.  But  peace  is  as  important  as  war,  and 

160 


7 

it  is  as  essential  and  proper  that  the  state  shall 
take  property  for  the  use  of  a  highway  as  for  the 
maintenance  of  a  fort  or  any  other  necessary 
and  public  use ;  and  it  may  be  taken  through  the 
agency  of  a  township  to  establish  a  township 
road,  or  a  county  a  county  road,  or  a  state  a 
state  road,  or  by  the  nation  for  a  national  road. 

In  the  earlier  ages  there  was  no  duty  incum- 
bent upon  government  to  pay  for  property  appro- 
priated in  war,  and  sometimes  it  was  neglected 
in  peace.  To  secure  the  right  of  the  citizen  in 
this  regard,  it  is  now  provided  by  the  constitu- 
tions of  all  the  American  states  that  property  of 
the  citizen  shall  not  be  appropriated  for  public 
highways  without  compensation  being  made  to 
the  private  owner. 

When  a  state  directly  appropriates  property 
and  establishes  a  road,  it  is  easy  to  understand 
that  it  is  the  property  of  the  state  devoted  to  the 
use  of  all  its  people.  But,  generally  speaking, 
railroads  are  not  constructed  immediately  by  the 
state.  When  railroads  first  came  into  use  the 
American  states  were  unable  to  raise  the  means 


161 


8 

necessary  to  build  and  operate  these  great  and 
necessary  highways.  And  so,  instead  of  building 
the  roads  directly,  and  levying  heavy  and  re- 
curring taxes  upon  the  people  to  maintain  and 
operate  them,  the  right  to  build  and  operate  the 
roads  was  conferred  upon  certain  of  its  citizens 
and  their  successors,  who  were  united  in  a  body 
called  a  corporation  and  endowed  with  all  the 
rights  of  an  individual,  and  given  continual  suc- 
cession, or,  as  it  is  sometimes  said,  perpetuity. 
To  this  body  the  state  transferred  the  power  of 
eminent  domain,  and  all  the  other  powers  held 
by  the  state  necessary  to  the  construction  and 
maintenance  of  a  road. 

In  this  land  of  peace  it  is  not  always  easy  to 
conceive  of  a  railroad,  owned  and  operated  by  a 
body  of  citizens  united  into  a  corporation,  as  a 
public  governmental  agency.  But  if  you  go  to  a 
nation  which  is  engaged  in  warfare,  and  where 
the  government  is  maintaining  and  transporting 
armies  from  the  interior  across  the  country  to 
the  frontier,  it  is  easy  to  regard  a  railroad  as  a 
governmental,  military  highway.  So,  in  many 

162 


countries,  railways  are  built  and  maintained  as  a 
part  of  the  means  of  national  defense.  This  is  so  in 
France  and  also  in  Germany  and  Italy  and  other  na- 
tions of  the  continent.  In  those  countries  which  are 
in  a  continual  state  of  readiness  of  defense  and 
warfare,  the  railroads  are  generally  established 
and  operated  directly  by  the  government  itself. 
But  it  is  not  necessary  that  the  government 
should  own  a  railroad  in  order  to  control  it.  An 
illustration  of  this  may  be  found  in  France. 
There  no  railroad  can  be  built  except  by  permis- 
sion of  the  government.  No  parallel  lines  or 
competing  lines  are  permitted.  The  cost  of  con- 
struction is  paid,  not  out  of  the  public  chest,  but 
by  private  persons  or  stockholders ;  yet  the  road, 
when  built,  is  regulated  and  controlled  directly 
by  the  government.  The  whole  operation  of  the 
railroads  in  France  is  under  the  supervision  of 
the  Transportation  Bureau,  so  that  the  speed,  the 
fares,  even  the  style  and  character  of  the  cars, 
are  determined  and  fixed  by  governmental  agency. 
The  company  can  make  no  alteration  in  the 
machinery  or  rolling  stock  unless  it  is  submitted 


10 

to  and  approved  by  the  governmental  depart- 
ment. 

I  remember  reading  in  a  newspaper  while  there 
of  a  passenger  who  brought  a  suit  against  a  com- 
pany because  his  hand  was  caught  in  a  car  door 
and  injured.  The  railroad  plead  in  defense  that  the 
door  was  of  a  different  design  from  that  generally  in 
use,  that  it  was  compelled  to  use  this  new  style  of 
door  by  direction  of  the  government,  that  the 
plan  was  defective,  thereby  causing  the  injury  to 
the  passenger ;  and  so,  it  said,  it  was  not  liable 
in  damages  for  the  injury  sustained.  Neverthe- 
less the  French  court  held  otherwise  and  required 
the  company  to  compensate  the  injured  passen- 
ger. And,  on  reflection,  perhaps  this  is  not  un- 
just, for  the  reason  that  a  French  railway  is  not 
private  property  in  the  sense  in  which  that  term 
is  commonly  understood,  but  is  private  property 
devoted  to  a  public  use,  and  in  its  use  the  govern- 
ment has  a  right  to  direct  the  manner  and  means 
without  assuming  the  liability  consequent  upon 
any  defective  or  improper  use. 

England  and  America  have,  in  the  main,  been 

164 


II 

at  peace.  Neither  keeps  large  standing  armies  ; 
neither  has  a  frontier  which  must  be  continually 
guarded  against  invasion.  And  so,  in  these  coun- 
tries, a  railway  is  not,  in  the  public  eye,  a  mili- 
tary road,  but  a  peaceful  enterprise ;  and  thus  it 
'has  been  more  or  less  difficult  to  get  all  the  people 
at  all  times  to  comprehend  and  understand  that 
an  American  and  an  English  railway  are  public 
highways. 

Of  course,  during  the  late  civil  war,  the  gov- 
ernment laid  its  hands  on  the  railroads  in  the 
states,  as  well  as  the  other  highways  and  means 
of  transportation,  and  used  them  for  military 
purposes.  It  was  the  right  and  duty  of  the  na- 
tion to  do  this,  but  it  was  not  impressed  upon  the 
public  mind  that  it  was  being  done  through  the 
sovereign  power  of  the  government  to  travel 
upon  public  roads,  but  rather  as  the  taking  and 
using  of  property  for  the  public  defense  and 
welfare. 

Now,  I  want  to  invite  your  attention  to  the  ex- 
act relation  of  the  American  railroad  to  the 
American  state  and  the  United  States. 


12 

We  have  seen  that  a  railroad  is  not,  any  more 
than  a  turnpike  road,  a  private  enterprise.  Its 
owner  is  created  by  means  of  law  to  carry  out  a 
public  purpose  for  the  public  good. 

When  railroads  were  first  being  established  in 
this  country  it  was  the  common  thought  that 
they  should  be  held  and  owned,  as  well  as  used, 
by  the  state.  Many  of  the  early  charters  so  de- 
clared. Thus,  as  an  example,  one  of  the  charters 
granted  in  this  state  on  which  a  railroad  was  es- 
tablished and  is  still  maintained  as  one  of  the 
leading  lines,  provided  that,  "at  any  time  after 
the  expiration  of  sixty  years,  the  state  reserves 
the  right  to  purchase  said  road  by  paying  said 
company  the  entire  cost  of  constructing  said  road 
and  keeping  the  same  in  repair,  with  six  per  cent, 
interest  thereon." 

A  charter  in  the  State  of  Ohio,  connecting  a 
line  with  the  one  above  mentioned,  provided  that, 
"  if  the  legislature  shall,  after  the  expiration  of 
thirty-five  years,  make  provision  for  paying  the 
company  the  amount  expended  on  the  road  and 
six  per  cent,  interest  thereon,  less  dividends  paid, 

166 


13 

then  that  such  road  shall  vest  in  and  become  the 
property  of  the  State  of  Ohio." 

Some  of  the  other  states  about  the  same  time 
passed  similar  charters. 

The  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania  conceived 
that  the  company  should  build  the  roadway,  pro- 
vide the  motive  power,  and  that  the  shippers 
should  have  the  right  to  furnish  the  vehicles  in 
which  their  products  and  merchandise  should  be 
carried  over  the  road. 

But  the  magnitude  of  the  capital  invested  in 
the  highways  of  the  country  and  the  great  vol- 
ume of  the  traffic  has  diverted  the  public  attention 
from  the  primary  concept  of  the  railway,  until 
now  we  seem  to  forget  the  true  relation  of  the 
railway  to  the  state,  and  are  wont  to  regard  it  as 
a  private  enterprise ;  yet  hardly  a  freight  train 
passes  before  our  eyes  but  we  see  the  cars  of 
private  owners  laden  with  beef  or  beer  or  other 
merchandise,  being  hauled  in  compliance  with  the 
old  notion  that  the  shipper  should  provide  his 
own  cars. 

Throughout  the  western  states  many  railroads 


14 

have  been  in  part  at  least  built  by  moneys  raised 
by  taxation  and  donated  or  subscribed  to  the  rail- 
way company.  No  one  would  think  for  a  mo- 
ment that  the  state  had  power  by  taxation  to  raise 
money  to  build  a  factory  or  establish  a  dry  goods 
store,  or  tile,  or  otherwise  improve  a  farm ;  yet 
in  the  general  mind  railways  have  commonly 
been  thought  to  be  private  property  like  a  factory 
or  a  farm,  and  so,  many  years  ago,  a  man  enter- 
taining such  views  resisted  the  payment  of  taxes 
levied  upon  his  property  for  the  purpose  of  aiding 
in  the  construction  of  a  railway  through  the 
county,  and  the  case  ultimately  got  into  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  United  States  in  1872.  In 
that  case  that  great  court  stated  with  exactness 
the  precise  relation  of  the  American  railroad  to 
the  American  state  as  follows : 

"  That  railroads,  though  constructed  by  private 
corporations  and  owned  by  them,  are  public  high- 
ways, has  been  the  doctrine  of  nearly  all  the 
courts  ever  since  these  conveniences  for  passage 
and  transportation  have  had  any  existence.  Very 
early  the  question  arose  whether  a  state's  right 

168 


15 

of  eminent  domain  could  be  exercised  by  a  pri- 
vate corporation  created  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
structing a  railroad.  Clearly  it  could  not  unless 
taking  land  for  such  a  purpose  by  such  an  agency 
is  taking  land  for  public  use.  The  right  of  emi- 
nent domain  nowhere  justifies  taking  property 
for  private  use.  Yet  it  is  a  doctrine  universally 
accepted  that  a  state  legislature  may  authorize  a 
private  corporation  to  take  land  for  the  construc- 
tion of  such  a  road,  making  compensation  to  the 
owner.  What  else  does  this  doctrine  mean  if  not 
that  building  a  railroad,  though  it  be  built  by  a 
private  corporation,  is  an  act  done  for  a  public 
use  ?  And  the  reason  why  the  use  has  always 
been  held  a  public  one,  is  that  such  a  road  is  a 
highway,  whether  made  by  the  government  itself, 
or  by  the  agency  of  corporate  bodies,  or  even  by 
individuals  when  they  obtain  their  power  to  con- 
struct it  from  legislative  grant.  It  would  be  use- 
less to  cite  the  numerous  decisions  to  this  effect 
which  have  been  made  in  the  state  courts.  *  *  * 
"  Whether  the  use  of  a  railroad  is  a  public  one  or 
a  private  one  depends  in  no  measure  upon  the 

169 


i6 

question  who  constructed  it  or  who  owns  it.  It 
has  never  been  considered  a  matter  of  any  im- 
portance that  the  road  was  built  by  the  agency  of 
a  private  corporation.  No  matter  who  is  the 
agent,  the  function  performed  is  that  of  the  state. 
Though  the  ownership  is  private,  the  use  is  pub- 
lic. So  turnpikes,  bridges,  ferries  and  canals,  al- 
though made  by  individuals  under  public  grants, 
or  by  companies,  are  regarded  as  publici  juris. 
The  right  to  exact  tolls  or  charge  freights  is 
granted  for  a  service  to  the  public.  The  owners 
may  be  private  companies,  but  they  are  compella- 
ble  to  permit  the  public  to  use  their  works  in  the 
manner  in  which  such  works  can  be  used.  That 
all  persons  may  not  put  their  own  cars  upon  the 
road  and  use  their  own  motive  power  has  no  bear- 
ing upon  the  question  whether  the  road  is  a  pub- 
lic highway.  It  bears  only  upon  the  mode  of  use, 
of  which  the  legislature  is  the  exclusive  judge." 
Olcott  v.  The  Supervisors,  16  Wai.  694. 
The  use  of  most  of  the  public  roads  is  free  to 
all.  A  township  road  is  maintained  by  a  town- 
ship tax;  a  county  road  by  a  county  tax;  a  street 


170 


17 

by  a  city  tax.  Formerly,  turnpikes  were,  gen- 
erally speaking,  made  and  owned  by  corporations 
created  in  the  same  manner  as  railroad  compa- 
nies, and  a  toll  was  charged  for  their  use  in  the 
same  manner  as  tolls  are  charged  for  the  use  of 
railways.  But  now  most  of  these  turnpikes  have 
been  purchased  by  the  counties  and  converted 
into  public  roads.  The  purchase  money  has  been 
raised  by  taxation.  So,  many  turnpike  roads  are 
now  built  by  taxation  and  are  known  as  free 
gravel  roads.  The  same  power  which  can  pur- 
chase or  build  a  free  turnpike  road  could  purchase 
or  build  a  free  railroad.  But  the  power  has  never 
been,  and  it  is  not  probable  that  it  will  be,  exer- 
cised in  America  so  as  to  make  free  railroads. 

The  fare  which  a  passenger  pays  for  the  use  of 
a  railroad  is  in  the  nature  of  a  tax  for  such  use, 
collected  ordinarily  at  the  station  before  the  pas- 
senger enters  the  train  and  enjoys  the  use.  So 
the  freight  money  paid  for  transportation  is  like- 
wise a  tax.  A  person  engaged  in  a  private 
business  may  sell  his  goods,  wares  and  merchan- 
dise at  such  prices  as  he  may  fix.  They  may 


i8 

change  from  day  to  day.  Prices  of  all  commodi- 
ties are  changing  daily  in  the  public  markets. 
But  a  railroad  has  not  the  right  to  fix  the  fare  at 
its  own  pleasure.  The  state  has  the  right  to,  and 
often  does,  fix  it  at  so  much  a  mile  or  ton  or  car. 
And  if  a  state  does  not  exercise  this  right  directly 
by  a  statute,  the  courts  regulate  and  control  it, 
and  will  not  permit  a  railway  company  to  charge 
by  way  of  a  tax — i.  e.,  a  fare — more  than  a  rea- 
sonable sum  for  the  use  of  the  railway  under  all 
the  circumstances. 

The  state  may  not  only  regulate  the  tax  for  the 
use,  but  it  may  and  does  exercise  the  sovereign 
power  in  many  other  ways.  It  may  regulate  the 
speed.  The  legislature  has  conferred  this  power 
upon  the  cities  and  towns  throughout  this  state. 
They  exercise  it  without  stint. 

In  many  states  laws  are  made  providing  that 
engineers  shall  pass  an  examination  as  to  the 
sufficiency  of  their  eyesight  before  engaging  or 
continuing  in  the  service.  One  who  is  color 
blind  is  not  a  safe  engineer.  So  regulations  may 
be  made  touching  sobriety.  In  this  State,  and  in 


172 


19 

almost  all  the  states,  the  conductors  are  vested 
with  police  powers  and  may  maintain  peace  and 
order  in  a  car  and  arrest  and  imprison  and  expel 
a  disturber  of  the  peace  without  process  or  war- 
rant. No  person  engaged  in  a  private  business 
could  be  clothed  with  such  powers. 

Immediately  after  the  thirteen  American  states 
had  established  their  independence,  each  state 
claimed,  and  exercised  in  a  general  way,  the  sov- 
ereign powers  of  any  nation  touching  commerce 
passing  in  and  out  of  such  state.  Each  state 
then  had  the  right  to  make  a  tariff  for  itself  and 
levy  a  tax  upon  the  goods,  wares  and  merchan- 
dise coming  into  the  state,  or,  indeed,  going  out 
of  the  state.  This  soon  led  to  a  very  bitter  feel- 
ing between  the  states,  many  of  which  passed 
severe  and  arbitrary  and  retaliatory  laws.  The  se- 
curity and  perpetuity  of  the  United  States  was 
put  in  imminent  peril.  At  the  suggestion  of 
Washington  and  others  a  convention  was  called, 
which  ultimately  formed  and  presented  to  the 
country  our  present  constitution.  It  was  found 
necessary,  for  the  maintenance  of  good  feeling 


173 


20 

and  of  the  perpetuity  of  the  nation,  that  this  power 
should  be  withdrawn  from  the  states,  and  so  it 
was  provided  that  Congress  alone  should  have 
power  to  regulate  commerce  between  the  states. 
This  meant,  of  course,  that  the  states  transferred 
this  power  of  regulating  or  taxing  commerce  pass- 
ing from  one  to  the  other  entirely  to  the  general 
government.  Under  the  exercise  of  this  power 
Congress,  some  years  ago,  passed  an  act  known 
as  the  interstate  commerce  law,  regulating,  in 
some  measure,  railroads  engaged  in  traffic  moving 
from  state  to  state.  This  is  an  immense  power. 
As  yet  the  government  has  not  undertaken  to 
fix  a  rate  or  fare,  but  only  to  prohibit  partiality 
and  enforce  the  common  rule  that  all  persons 
shall  be  treated  alike  when  using  the  railways  for 
such  traffic  under  similar  circumstances.  It  is  a 
great  and  growing  power.  It  is  not  improbable 
that  the  members  of  this  class,  during  the  course 
of  their  careers,  will  see  the  power  exercised  to 
the  extent  that  the  government  shall  take  a  much 
greater  control  of  the  railways  throughout  the 
country,  establish  a  railway  department,  and 


174 


21 

place  at  its  head  a  chief  officer  and  give  him  a 
seat  in  the  cabinet.  This  is  the  way  in  which 
railways  are  managed  in  other  countries  where 
they  are  owned  by  the  nation,  and  also  in  France, 
where  they  are  owned  by  private  stockholders. 
.  Institutions  grow  and  develop  by  reason  of  pub- 
lic necessity  and  demands  of  the  people.  Great 
forces  are  now  at  work  in  the  railway  world, 
tending  to  compel  the  various  companies  to  merge 
and  unite  themselves  into  fewer  and  longer  lines. 
In  many  instances  the  policy  and  legislation  of 
the  states  has  been  felt  by  the  railways  to  be  antag- 
onistic and  oppressive,  and  they  are  seeking  to  es- 
cape from  future  hardships  and  to  place  themselves 
under  the  control  of  the  general  government.  And 
it  is  not  improbable  that  at  no  very  distant  day  the 
great  interstate  and  transcontinental  lines  will  be 
almost  wholly  taken  from  under  state  control  and 
placed  under  laws  framed  by  Congress  in  the  exer- 
cise of  its  commercial  powers;  and  in  this  way  the 
railways  will  be  brought  back  to  the  original  purpose 
and  conception  of  public  highways  for  public  use. 


175 


22 

And  then  it  will  be  easy  again  to  see  the  true  re- 
lations existing  between  these  great  highways 
and  the  state,  represented  by  the  entire  nation. 
And  it  is  not  improbable  that  such  a  result  will  be 
found  beneficial  to  all  the  people.  This  is  the 
true  relation  which  should  exist  between  these 
great  highways  and  the  people ;  because,  taking 
into  consideration  the  use  and  traffic,  the  railway 
system  is  national  in  its  extent  and  service,  and 
should  be  national  in  its  government  and  control. 


V. 

RAILROADS  AND  THE  PEOPLE.* 


ADDISON  C.  HARRIS. 


IT  IS  self-apparent  if  a  railroad  is  regarded  as  a 
public  highway,  that  everybody  has  a  right  to 
use  it.  We  can  hardly  think  that  any  man  has 
not  a  right  to  walk  upon  any  street  or  drive  upon 
any  state  road,  or  a  county  road,  or  a  township 
road  ;  but  we  do  not  always  as  easily  think  that 
everybody  has  an  equal  and  similar  right  to  use  a 
railroad.  That  comes  from  the  fact  that  many  of 
our  railroad  people,  and  o'ther  people  as  well, 
have  a  notion  that  a  railroad  is  private  property, 
instead  of  being  a  public  institution  ;  and  it  is  for 
the  purpose  of  bringing  our  minds  closer  to  the 
relation  of  the  railroads  to  the  people  that  I  invite 
your  attention  this  afternoon. 


*Reported  by  Mr.  Evans. 

177 


We  would  open  our  eyes  in  surprise  at  the  in- 
quiry, whether  everybody  has  not  the  right  to 
use  our  federal  postal  system.  Of  course,  every- 
body has  such  right.  Now,  what  is  the  postal 
system?  It  is  a  function  performed  by  the  gov- 
ernment for  the  transmission  and  intercommuni- 
cation of  mail  matter  and  news.  But  it  does  not 
stop  there.  Our  government  carries  books  and 
merchandise;  and  congressmen  send  seeds  and 
the  like  to  their  constituents ;  and  the  only 
reason  the  postal  system  does  not  grow  into  a 
broader  service  is  simply  because  Congress  has 
not  seen  fit  to  enlarge  it.  Congress  puts 
limitations  upon  it,  and  properly. 

During  these  Christmas  times  you  will  see 
every  postman  who  goes  about  the  town  laden 
with  goods,  and  books,  and  toys,  and  merchan- 
dise, within  a  certain  weight,  being  delivered  by 
the  general  government. 

And  so,  if  you  travel  upon  a  German  railway, 
you  find  the  government,  through  the  small  pack- 
age or  parcel  system,  carrying  the  linen  of  the 
students  in  the  schools  and  universities,  home  and 

178 


back,  every  week.  Indeed,  all  small  parcels  are 
carried  by  such  service  in  many  countries.  It  is 
the  same  in  principle  exactly  as  the  carrying  of 
the  mails.  When  we  put  a  package  in  the  postal 
system,  whether  it  be  a  letter  or  merchandise,  we 
must  first  pay  the  charge.  We  put  a  stamp  on  the 
letter.  We  know  what  the  charge  is.  It  is  a  tax. 

It  is  like  the  tax  levied  during  the  war,  by 
stamps,  upon  checks,  deeds  and  other  instruments. 
But  if  it  is  a  package,  we  ascertain  the  weight 
and  pay  accordingly. 

So,  if  one  goes  to  a  telegraph  station  for  the 
purpose  of  sending  a  message,  which  is  carried, 
not  mechanically  but  legally,  exactly  like  a  let- 
ter, we  are  ordinarily  required  to  pay  the  cost  of 
transmission  in  advance.  That,  too,  is  a  tax  for 
the  use  of  the  wire  during  the  conveyance  of  the 
message. 

If  one  goes  to  a  railroad  company  and  asks  it 
to  carry  goods,  or  to  take  passage,  it  has  a  right 
to  demand  payment  in  advance,  just  like  and  as 
the  government  demands  similar  payment  for 
postal  service. 


179 


In  so  far  as  carrying  passengers  is  concerned, 
it  is  almost  the  universal  practice  to  require  the 
payment  of  the  fare  or  tax,  in  the  nature  of  the 
purchase  of  a  ticket,  before  the  commencement 
of  the  service.  But  as  to  the  carriage  of  goods, 
the  rule  is  ordinarily  otherwise.  While  the  com- 
pany has  the  right  to  demand  and  collect  the  tax 
or  charge  in  advance,  yet  it  may  waive  this,  and 
usually  does,  not  collecting  until  the  goods  are  de- 
livered to  the  consignee ;  but  it  has  the  right  to 
retain  the  goods  until  the  tax  is  paid. 

So  I  want  every  member  of  the  class  to  grasp 
this  and  hold  it  firmly — that  every  sum  paid  by 
one  of  the  people  to  a  railroad  company  for  the 
carriage  of  his  person  or  his  property  is  a  tax, 
which  is  levied  for  the  service  rendered  by  the 
railway. 

It  is  elementary,  known  not  simply  to  lawyers 
but  to  everybody,  that  taxes  must  be  equal.  It 
will  not  do  for  a  state  or  a  city  to  tax  some  people 
or  their  property  at  higher  rates  than  they  tax 
other  people  or  their  property. 


1 80 


5 

If  government  levies  a  tax  on  the  poll,  as  is 
common,  then  every  man  must  pay  so  much  head 
tax,  whether  he  has  a  wise  head  or  a  foolish 
head. 

So,  if  property  is  taxed  it  must  be  at  a  per 
cent,  on  the  value,  regardless  of  the  ownership. 
You  can  not  tax  a  rich  man's  property  more, 
or  a  poor  man's  property  less.  Neither  has  gov- 
ernment any  right  to  tax  property  for  any  more 
than  is  ordinarily  and  necessarily  required  for 
the  administration  of  the  government.  Any  tax- 
payer may  rebel  if  taxes  are  levied  against  him 
which  are  not  to  be  used  for  governmental  pur- 
poses. You  can  bring  a  suit  and  the  courts  will 
stop  it. 

So,  now,  if  a  railroad  fare  is  a  tax,  and  as  all 
taxes  must  be  equal,  it  follows,  without  further 
argument  or  illustration,  that  the  tax  which  the 
railroad  charges  for  freight  carriage  or  passenger 
service  must  likewise  be  equal,  under  similar 
circumstances. 

And  so  it  is  in  theory  ;  and  so  it  ought  to  be  in 
practice. 

181 


It  is  so,  generally  speaking,  in  relation  to  the 
carriage  of  passengers.  Of  course  there  are  cer- 
tain special  rates  allowed  for  picnics,  theatrical 
parties  and  the  like,  but  these  are  exceptions 
to  the  rule.  Yet,  when  it  comes  to  paying  the 
tax  for  freight  service,  it  is  not  and  has  not  been 
the  invariable  practice  for  railway  companies  to 
levy  the  same  tax  upon  every  man's  property  for 
the  same  service ;  and  that  is  what  has  caused 
much  discussion  throughout  the  country  and  re- 
sulted in  the  law  heretofore  spoken  of  as  the  In- 
terstate Commerce  Act. 

What  brought  about  that  law?  It  was  because 
the  railway  people — I  mean  the  superintendent, 
president  and  directory — came  to  think  that  every 
road  was  a  private  affair,  and  they  could  operate 
it  as  they  pleased,  and  had  a  right  to  charge  one 
man  more  than  they  charged  another.  If  so,  let 
us  see  the  results. 

Say  here  are  two  men  doing  the  same  business 
in  the  same  city  or  town.  It  was  not  an  uncom- 
mon thing  to  give  one  man  a  special  rate.  How 
long  could  the  other  survive  such  competition? 

182 


7 

Thus,  if  a  railroad  should  agree  with  a  grain 
dealer  in  LaFayette  to  carry  for  him  to  the  sea- 
board for  one  or  two  cents  a  bushel  less  than  it 
would  carry  for  anybody  else,  he  could  have  a 
monopoly  of  the  business.  The  man  thus  favored 
can  and  will  crush  every  other  grain  dealer  out  of 
the  market.  That  thing  went  on  in  many  kinds 
of  traffic  for  years  and  years,  over  the  chief  and 
important  lines  in  the  country.  The  courts  tried 
to  stop  it,  but  courts  are  slow  and  cumbersome,  and 
men  suffer  evil  long  and  patiently  rather  than 
enter  into  a  struggle  with  a  great  railroad  com- 
pany. 

At  last  Congress,  under  the  power  which  I 
mentioned,  of  regulating  commerce,  laid  its  hand 
upon  the  subject,  and  passed  certain  laws  and 
regulations  for  the  purpose  of  compelling  railways 
engaged  in  national  commerce  to  perform  their 
simple  duty  of  taxing  everybody  equally  for  the 
same  service. 

This  is  all  I  care  to  say  upon  this  subject.  It 
is  enough,  when  we  come  to  fully  comprehend 
that  a  railroad  is  a  public  road ;  that  everybody 

183 


8 

has  a  right  to  travel  upon  it,  and  have  their  goods 
carried,  and  everybody  must  pay  a  tax,  and  all 
taxes  must  be  equal  in  proportion  to  the  service 
had — it  is  enough,  I  say,  to  state  the  elementary 
principles  of  that  branch  of  railway  jurisprudence. 

But  another  illustration  proves  the  rule  that  a 
railroad  is  not  a  private  enterprise  or  affair. 
Thus,  any  man  who  is  carrying  on  a  private  en- 
terprise may  stop  business  whenever  he  pleases. 
A  hotel,  which  is  something  of  a  public  institution, 
inasmuch  as  it  must  receive  all  travelers  who  seek 
entertainment,  may  close  its  doors ;  so,  a  farmer 
may  quit  tilling  his  fields ;  so,  a  dry  goods  mer- 
chant, machinist,  blacksmith  or  shoemaker  may 
stop  business  at  pleasure ;  but  a  railroad,  as  I  say, 
is  a  public  institution,  and  can  not  stop. 

Would  any  one  think  that  a  turnpike  company, 
having  a  right  to  charge  tolls  for  traveling  upon 
its  gravel  road,  has  a  right  to  shut  its  gates,  put 
fences  across  the  road  and  stop  travel?  Of 
course  not.  And  why?  Because  it  is  a  public 
road,  and  being  public,  it  must  be  left  and  kept 
open  ;  and  if  a  turnpike  company  does  not  want 

184 


to  do  business  upon  it,  they  must  leave  it,  never- 
theless, for  public  use. 

On  the  same  principle  it  must  follow  that  a 
railroad  can  not  stop  doing  business.  It  matters 
not,  so  far  as  the  people  are  concerned,  whether 
the  railroad  is  paying  dividends,  large  or  little,  or 
none  at  all.  And  if  the  time  comes  when  the 
company  can  not  operate  its  property,  then  some- 
body goes  into  a  court  and  its  administration  is 
put  into  receivership ;  that  is,  the  court  takes  the 
road,  operates  and  maintains  it  for  public  use  until 
such  time  as  some  purchaser  will  buy  the  prop- 
erty and  continue  the  use. 

If  the  practice  were  that  railways  should  per- 
mit everybody  to  put  their  own  cars  upon  the 
roads,  or  if  the  state  owned  and  ran  them,  then  it 
is  easy  to  see  such  would  be  public  roads.  But 
under  the  general  custom  in  this  country,  the 
railways  alone  undertake  to  furnish  the  car.  That 
being  so,  they  must  furnish  enough  cars  to  do 
the  service,  and  if  they  neglect  or  fail  or  refuse 
to  furnish  cars  when  called  for,  they  are  liable 
for  any  damages  ensuing  thereby. 


10 

I  had  an  interesting  illustration  of  that  not 
many  years  ago.  Without  stating  the  reason 
why,  a  certain  railway  company  thought  it  would 
serve  its  business  interests  to  refuse  to  furnish  a 
certain  grain  dealer  with  cars.  He  had  a  large 
amount  of  wheat  which  he  had  sold  and  wanted 
to  ship  to  the  seaboard,  and  demanded  so  many 
cars  for  so  many  days — say  twenty  cars  a  day 
for  thirty  days.  The  railway  refused  to  comply 
with  the  demand,  put  their  empty  cars  on  a  switch 
outside  of  town,  and  directed  the  station  agent 
not  to  furnish  them  to  be  used  for  such  service. 

If  that  superintendent  had  understood,  or  re 
fleeted  for  a  moment  upon  the  relation  which  the 
.railway  sustains  to  the  public,  he  would  not  have 
been  guilty  of  saying  that  he  would  not  furnish 
cars  to  haul  wheat  for  one  member  of  the  public. 
But  yet  he  did,  and  it  took  a  long  while  for  the 
shipper  to  get  at  the  railway  through  a  law- 
suit. 

I  might  say  I  tried  to  protect  the  railroad,  but 
the  judgment  came,  and  well  came,  that  the  com- 
pany was  bound  to  pay  damages  to  the  full 

1 86 


II 

measure  brought  about  and  caused  by  this  re- 
fusal of  a  public  duty. 

The  railway  statutes  of  Indiana  rest  upon  the 
basis  that  railways  are  public  institutions,  and  so 
the  laws  provide  that  at  all  crossings  the  lines 
shall  be  connected  with  "Y's,"  so  that  traffic 
moving  on  one  line  may  be  put  upon  and  for- 
warded on  another. 

I  want  to  go  back  a  moment  and  point  out  the 
evolution  of  the  railway  and  the  growth  and 
application  of  the  laws  which  more  particularly 
apply  to  certain  branches  of  the  business,  that 
is,  carriage  of  freight  and  carriage  of  passengers ; 
because  the  law,  upon  whatever  subject  it  may 
be,  is  the  growth  and  application  of  the  demand 
or  necessity  for  appropriate  rules  of  action,  and 
it  is  particularly  illustrated  in  what  I  am  now 
about  to  say. 

We  have  seen  that  roads  are  made  for  the  pub- 
lic use.  Why  is  a  road  improved?  It  is  that  the 
power  which  is  applied  to  the  movement  of  ve- 
hicles may  move  a  larger  weight  than  is  possible 
on  an  unimproved  road. 


12 

Two  or  three  centuries  ago,  in  England,  there 
were  large  coal  mines  some  distance  from  the 
waterway  upon  which  the  coals  were  carried  to 
market.  As  the  population  of  London  increased, 
the  demand  for  coals  grew  to  be  enormous.  And 
these  people  had  to  haul  their  coals  in  wagons, 
over,  let  me  say,  dirt  roads,  some  miles  before 
reaching  the  vessels  upon  which  they  were  put 
and  carried  to  London.  The  time  and  money 
necessarily  expended  in  this  short  haul  was  enor- 
mous, and  so  here  was  a  demand  for  a  better 
road  from  the  mine  to  the  waterway.  In  time  a 
man  by  the  name  of  Outram  thought  out  the  idea 
that  he  would  overcome  this  difficulty  of  a  muddy 
road  by  laying  two  parallel  wooden  sills,  smooth 
and  hard,  upon  which  the  wheels  of  the  wagons 
could  be  made  to  run,  which  he  saw  could  be  ac- 
complished by  putting  a  flange  on  the  wheel,  either 
on  the  inside  or  the  out,  or,  like  the  grasp  of  the 
hand,  over  both  sides,  and  thus  hold  the  wagons 
on  the  rail. 

It  was  found  to  be  a  great  improvement  in 
roads,  and  horses  could  draw  five  or  ten  times  as 

1 88 


13 

much  tonnage  over  that  road  as  over  the  dirt  road 
underneath,  and  from  thence  till  now  all  such 
roads  are  named,  after  the  inventor,  "tram- 
roads." 

In  time  the  concept  came,  why  not  put  a  stage 
coach  on  such  a  rail  so  as  to  move  faster  and 
carry  more  passengers?  And  so  in  time  such 
lines  were  operated,  more  or  less,  in  England. 

In  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  an  ingenious 
mechanic — perhaps  I  ought  to  give  him  a  higher 
title — thought  out  that  he  could  put  a  horse  in  a 
tread  on  a  car  and  thus  create  the  power  to  move 
it  on  the  rails.  He  did,  in  fact,  make  for  a  time 
a  successful  horse-power  car. 

The  same  thing  was  done  in  Baltimore,  and 
trains  were  moved  at  a  speed  of  twelve  or  thir- 
teen miles  an  hour. 

As  this  thought  was  ripening  into  better  appli- 
ances, the  time  came  when  Stephenson,  an 
English  engineer,  conceived  that  he  could  put  a 
steam  engine  on  a  wagon  or  vehicle,  and  pull 
other  vehicles  behind  it  along  a  tramroad  and 


189 


14 

use  iron  rails.  While  he  was  not  the  first,  per- 
haps, to  think  of  it,  he  was  the  first  to  work  out 
a  mechanical  and  commercial  success. 

At  the  time  of  Stephenson's  invention  the 
width  of  the  tramroads  was  four  feet  eight  and 
one-half  inches,  and  so  he  made  his  steam  loco- 
motive to  fit  the  tram  rails. 

Shortly  afterwards  an  English  locomotive  was 
brought  to  America  to  be  used  upon  one  of  the 
lines  out  of  New  York  City.  It  was  built  with 
the  same  gauge,  and  from  that  we  have  the  stand- 
ard gauge  throughout  the  United  States. 

In  short  words,  that  is  the  mechanical  evolu- 
tion of  the  railroad. 

Now,  as  to  the  legal  evolution. 

Long  before  railroads,  there  had  been  estab- 
lished and  maintained  in  England  lines  of  stage 
coaches  engaged  in  the  business  of  accommodating 
passenger  traffic.  Also  lines  of  vehicles  engaged 
in  the  carriage  of  goods  over  the  country. 

The  condition  of  society  in  those  times  is  famil- 
iar to  every  one  conversant  with  English  history, 
and  is  best  illustrated,  perhaps,  in  the  character 


190 


15 

of  Jack  Falstaff.  Jack  and  his  friends,  when 
they  wanted  money,  having  no  honest  way  of 
gaining  it,  became,  as  they  styled  themselves, 
"Gentlemen  of  the  shade" — that  is,  they  went 
on  the  road  at  night  and  robbed  people.  They 
•not  only  cut  purses  from  travelers,  but  they  took 
goods  from  the  carriers.  Under  the  old  Roman 
law,  which  for  many  centuries  was  the  law  of 
more  modern  Europe,  and  England  as  well,  it  was 
a  good  defense  for  a  carrier  to  say  that  the 
goods  had  been  taken  from  him  by  force,  so  that 
he  could  not  deliver  them.  This  defense,  per- 
haps honest  enough  at  first,  came  to  be  abused. 
Indeed,  the*  carrier  would  not  protect  his  goods. 
He  even  might  enter  into  a  conspiracy  with  these 
robbers  to  divide.  And  so,  about  two  centuries 
ago,  an  eminent  English  jurist  made  a  new  rule 
for  England,  and  declared  that  thereafter  the 
losses  by  thieves  or  robbers  were  to  be  borne  by 
the  carrier,  unless  he  could  show  that  he  was  de- 
prived of  the  goods  by  an  act  of  God  or  the 
public  enemy.  He  said : 


191 


i6 

"Though  the  force  be  never  so  great,  as  if  a 
multitude  of  people  shall  rob  him,  nevertheless  he 
is  chargeable  ;  and  this  is  a  politic  establishment 
derived  by  the  power  of  the  law  for  the  safety  of 
all  persons,  the  necessity  of  whose  affairs  oblige 
them  to  trust  this  sort  of  persons  that  they  may 
be  safe  in  their  ways  of  dealing ;  for  else  these 
carriers  might  have  an  opportunity  of  undoing 
all  persons  that  have  any  dealings  with  them  by 
combining  with  the  thieves,  and  yet  doing  it  in 
such  a  clandestine  manner  as  would  not  be  possi- 
ble to  be  discovered  ;  and  this  is  the  reason  that 
the  law  is  founded  upon." 

And  this  has  been  the  law  of  carriers  from 
thence  till  now  for  all  English-speaking  peoples. 

And,  as  governing  stage  coaches,  the  law  was 
made  by  another  English  judge  to  be  as  follows: 

"The  coachman  must  have  competent  skill, 
and  use  that  skill  with  diligence.  He  must  be 
>vell  acquainted  with  the  road  he  undertakes  to 
drive,  he  must  be  provided  with  steady  horses,  a 
coach  and  harness  of  sufficient  strength  and  prop- 
erly made,  and  also  with  lights  at  night.  If  there 


192 


17 

be  the  least  failure  in  any  of  these  things,  the 
duty  of  the  coach  proprietor  is  not  fulfilled,  and 
he  will  be  answerable  for  any  injury  or  damage 
that  happens." 

You  will  thus  see  that  the  carrier  of  goods  was 
made  an  insurer  of  their  safe  carriage  and  de- 
livery, unless  and  until  he  could  show  that  their 
loss  was  caused  by  an  act  of  God  or  the  public 
enemy  ;  and  the  public  enemy  meant  citizens  of 
another  country  at  war  with  England.  But  as  to 
passengers  he  was  not  an  insurer,  but  he  was  re- 
quired to  perform  the  rule  above  stated,  that  is, 
exercise  a  very  high  degree  of  care.  And  this  is 
the  law  to-day. 

Now,  let  us  turn  to  the  mechanical  evolution  a 
moment. 

The  human  mind  is  so  slow,  that  in  England 
and  upon  the  Continent  the  change  of  power 
from  animal  to  steam  could  not  arouse  the  human 
mind  to  use  another  vehicle  than  a  stage  coach  ; 
that  is,  they  kept  the  old  form  of  entrance  at  the 
sides  and  mechanically  put  two  or  three  stage 
coaches  upon  the  same  pairs  of  wheels  and  made 


193 


18 

lthe  pas 


In  this  country  the  passenger  car 
tibrY 


cd  in 


1  frdttf  !  aftfmiinfon4tt^ft^^eP«ida«i  could 
tRil*%lftttfflrft^&!^l4^ 

of  the  ettmpBtt^  Md  'rfi^'felatWns  to 
the  goods  and  passengers  being  caff^etl^  ^If^vWS 
o'rfe0^^1  1/thir»sfeiHte  in  law  (  'ivft'fefth^-  they'-AVere 
hauled  by  horses  or  locomotives.  Andrrso  the 
aftd  JATtterfe'drt  courts  [ 


!  KlWer  ie 

j«u  oJ  bnim 


rise  above  it. ,..n ;  The;ffjigip|2pr  feijth&jjcqifr 
SM^taijis.jt^e  sarri^i relaftiio/ns; j iAfrdft^n^btbf 
&$gegfi<H* 


must 


§afe,i 

;W^.  bio  oriJ  ^fii^u  ni  v/on  rnj'O  vri/;  rii 

CO^ch  045 1 

the  law  apples it^rn -t^rth^  ch^ng§§  ftfut 

imprpy^ment^j j^v e  rip^  f rpmi da/^^^^^n tSsflftb^ 

law  doe.s  not  allow  a  r;ai,lfoad  c 

on.ce 


inventions  are 


20 

bound  to  use  and  apply  them ;  because,  being  a 
public  road  and  not  allowing  other  people  to  fur- 
nish their  own  vehicles,  it  must  furnish  as  good 
and  as  safe  as  the  people  themselves  could  furnish. 

That  is  the  principle.  Thus,  when  the  air 
brake  was  demonstrated  to  be  a  safer  mechanism 
than  the  hand  brake,  it  did  not  require  an  act  of 
the  Legislature  or  of  Congress  to  make  it  incum- 
bent upon  the  railways  to  put  them  on  their 
trains,  but  the  law  itself  imposed  that  obligation. 
So  with  the  vestibule  car.  Would  a  railroad  be 
justified  in  any  court  now  in  using  the  old  van 
and  car  if  an  accident  happened  to  a  passenger 
by  failure  to  use  the  improved  vestibule?  The 
court  would  go  back  to  the  old  rule  and  declare 
the  railroad  must  provide  a  coach  and  harness  of 
sufficient  strength  and  properly  made.  Congress 
is  now  compelling  air  brakes  to  be  put  on  freight 
c*rs  to  protect  the  lives  and  limbs  of  trainmen. 

1  have  thus  attempted  to  point  out  the  evolution 
of  the  railway,  mechanically  and  legally,  and  I 
may  pause  to  say  that  the  same  is  going  on  in 
other  lines  of  commerce  and  business,  and  that  it 

196 


21 

is  absolutely  essential  for  any  one  desiring  to 
understand  the  reason  of  things  in  any  business 
or  profession  to  know  their  origin  and  develop- 
ment, in  order  that  he  may  understand  the  state 
of  things  at  the  present.  And  when  it  appears 
that  the  railroad  is  the  development  of  the  stage 
coach  upon  the  public  highway,  and  a  freight  car 
of  a  van  engaged  in  handling  and  delivering  mer- 
chandise throughout  the  county  over  public  roads, 
it  needs  no  further  argument  or  illustration  to 
elucidate  and  determine  our  proposition  that  a 
railway,  in  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  people,  is  a 
public  road. 

And  it  is  quite  well,  when  you  come  into  the 
railway  service,  that  you  should  understand  the 
relations  which  you  will  sustain  to  the  people. 
And  it  is  because  of  the  failure  on  the  part  of  the 
railway  officials,  as  well  as  on  the  part  of  the 
people  themselves,  that  there  has  been  so  long, 
and  is  such,  an  antipathy  between  the  public  and 
the  railroad  companies.  And  when  the  managers 
and  others  controlling  our  great  railway  systems 


197 


public' 
'  rigM'to  g*V  theHerttttt'Wd  b$  it 


soffluieh  di 

t^parst.^f  buoiliin  t>dt 
j;  bn/j  ,vj:v/rfx;ifl  jilduq  ^riJ  noqu 
•it>ni  ^ni'-jviMj  bn/:  vnilbrifiri  n1  >  rn;v  >;  to 

,r:Li;ui  "jilduq  vjvo  vlriijoj  -jrlt  Juodviijoid?  -j^ibnKrij 
ot  noiJinJp.ulli   10  jftt>rriuyiL   lydni.  ^n  ti 

i;   tiiflt   noiiieioqoiq   iuo   --jriifm^j-jf)   LHB 
B2J  ,-)Iqo9q  t»rli  ot  ^yjuhi  ti  ^.r.  nnt  o^  ni  f 


otni  •srno'j   uoy   nt>rfw  ,!bw  ttfiup  *\  ti  bnA 
bnjjJ^Tjbnu  bluorte  uoy  twit  /jjiviyf.  yuv/liin 
[osq   srit  ot  niiit^ua   Iliv/  uoy  rfoirlw  anoitfilsi 
"1o  tii;q  'jfit  no  oiulifi't  ^rit  lo  o-ijii'^jd  ?.[  ti  bnA 
"to   tu;q   ijdt  no  ^J;  II-jv/  tk   < 
t>d  f.firl   ^it)flt  tfcdt  ,< 
bru;  Diidijq  arit  n-^wt-^d  ydt/^qitm; 

^m  yrit  ntjriv/  briA     .^sin^qmoo  bjioiliui  t)fit 
r^y^  yuv/lifii  Jii--jii>  luo  j 


198 


the  employer  or  master  to  the  servant.  Put  in 
common  form,  it  is  that  the  master  shall  not  know- 
ingly or  carelessly  subject  the  servant  to  a  danger 
of  which  he  is  not  aware,  and  may  not  protect 
himself  against.  Now  I  shall  use  the  old  English 
terms  "  master  and  servant,"  because  they  better 
express  the  relation,  especially  in  railway  service, 
where  there  must  be  a  master  to  command  and 
enforce  obedience,  else  there  would  be  wrecks 
and  disaster  all  the  while ;  and,  further,  because 
he  who  is  engaged  in  the  important  lines  of  rail- 
way service  must  obey. 

I  shall  not  go  into  details  particularly.  This 
duty  which  I  have  spoken  of,  upon  the  company, 
is  a  continuing  one  and  rests  upon  it  at  all  times, 
and  to  all  its  people. 

One  of  the  cases  which  I  had  early  at  the  bar 
arose  by  reason  of  the  explosion  of  a  locomotive 
while  out  upon  the  road,  resulting  in  the  death  of 
the  fireman.  I  brought  an  action  against  the  com- 
pany for  furnishing  a  defective  engine,  in  that  the 
fire  box  was  old  and  insecure.  The  railroad  com- 
pany defended  along  the  line  that  it  had  built  a 

200 


good  road,  furnished  years  before  a  good  engine, 
had  a  competent  superintendent,  and  a  well 
equipped  machine  shop,  and  that  this  was  its 
whole  duty ;  and  if  the  servants  were  hurt  there- 
after by  reason  of  defective  machinery  it  was  not 
the  fault  of  the  company.  The  jury  did  not  so 
believe,  and  gave  a  verdict  against  the  company. 

You  may  be  surprised  to  hear  that  the  Supreme 
Court  decided  the  company  had  performed  its 
whole  duty,  and  remanded  the  case  for  a  new 
trial.  On  the  second  trial,  although  the  Judge 
told  the  jury  such  was  the  law,  yet  the  jury — may 
I  say,  having  a  more  conscious  insistence  as  to 
what  the  right  was — refused  to  follow  the  instruc- 
tion and  returned  a  second  verdict  against  the 
company.  Not  long  after,  the  Court,  and  not  the 
jury,  changed  the  law  of  this  State ;  and  it  has 
now  become  a  settled  rule  in  this  and  every  other 
State  that  every  railway  company  must  continu- 
ally do  all  that  it  reasonably  can,  that  is  fairly 
practicable,  to  protect  the  lives  and  limbs  of  its 
servants. 

You  have  noticed  on  either  side  of  a  railroad 


20 1 


bridge  whiplashes  attached  to  a  beam  across  the 
track,  hanging  down  so  as  to  strike  the  face  of  a 
brakeman  on  top  of  the  train.  This  is  a  means 
of  warning  required  of  the  railway  to  notify  its 
servants  of  existing  danger.  Without  such  notice 
an  injury  or  death  to  the  servant  would  be  fol- 
lowed by  a  verdict  and  judgment  against  the  com- 
pany. 

So,  if  a  bridge  is  so  narrow  that  an  engineer  or 
fireman,  swinging  out  at  the  cab  to  look  ahead,  is 
struck,  the  railway  is  responsible. 

So,  if  a  culvert  breaks  down,  or,  in  general,  if 
anything  happens  on  the  line  for  which  a  very 
high  degree  of  care — not  extraordinary — would 
have  discovered,  and  a  man  is  injured  or  killed, 
the  railway  company  is  liable  under  the  law  and 
must  make  good  the  damages  as  far  as  can  be 
done. 

Upon  this  principle  of  protecting  the  lives  and 
limbs  of  the  servants  are  those  laws  which  in 
some  States  provide  that  engineers  shall  be  ex- 
amined as  to  color  blindness,  so  that  they  may 


202 


5 

not,  by  mistake,  cause  a  collision,  by  failing  to 
observe  a  signal  of  danger. 

Ordinarily,  without  reflection,  we  say  that  this 
is  for  the  protection  of  the  passengers  and  freight 
being  carried  by  the  company.  It  is.  But  it  is 
likewise  security  for  the  trainmen  who  are  be- 
hind. 

So,  if  a  trainman  should  be  injured  by  reason 
of  the  defective  sight  of  the  engineer,  it  would  be 
negligence  as  much  as  by  a  defective  engine,  car, 
and  the  like. 

But  the  company  must  do  more.  You  can  not 
take  a  thousand  or  five  thousand  men,  give  them 
the  railroad  machinery  and  start  them  in  opera- 
tion unless  there  are  rules  carefully  framed  for 
the  control  of  the  service,  and  executed  with  alt 
the  summariness,  if  you  please,  of  the  rules  gov- 
erning a  regiment  or  a  ship. 

So,  if  a  railway  company  fails  to  make  and  en- 
force practical  rules  for  the  handling  of  its  traffic, 
or  having  made  them,  fails  to  enforce  them,  and 
the  servant  is  injured  thereby,  the  company  must 
respond  for  the  injury. 


203 


Let  us  now  come  to  the  relation  of  the  ser- 
vants themselves,  because  it  is  fair  to  assume 
that  in  your  several  careers,  many  of  you  will 
spend  your  lives  in  railway  service ;  for  the  edu- 
cation which  you  are  acquiring  in  this  University 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  by  the  rule  of  natural 
selection,  that  is  where  you  will  fall. 

Now,  what  shall  you  do  ?  The  first  thing,  of 
course,  is  to  do  your  duty.  It  must  be  done 
promptly,  exactly  and  without  murmur. 

Some  years  ago  I  had  a  case  professionally 
where  it  became  absolutely  essential  to  know  pre- 
cisely the  history  of  a  loaded  car  from  the  time 
it  left  Dayton,  Ohio,  until  it  arrived  at  Peoria, 
Illinois,  because  it  was  loaded  with  perishable 
property  which  had  become  valueless  during  the 
journey ;  and  the  company  which  I  happened  to 
represent,  was  sued  for  not  having  performed  its 
duty  in  speeding  the  car. 

I  went  to  the  superintendent  and  asked  for  a 
detailed  history  of  the  case.  The  next  day  he 
sent  me  the  information  in  a  general  way  that  it 
left  Dayton  at  one  time  and  three  or  four  days 

204 


afterwards  it  was  found  at  Indianapolis,  and  some 
days  thereafter  it  arrived  at  Peoria.  Of  course, 
this  was  of  no  avail.  I  said,  "  Have  you  got  any- 
body who  can  tell  me  exactly  when  the  car  started, 
when  your  company  received  it,  when  it  gave  it 
to  the  succeeding  line,  and,  in  short,  all  the  facts 
necessary  to  be  known  in  order  to  ascertain 
whether  this  company  has  discharged  its  bounden 
duty  to  the  owner  of  the  property  ?" 

He  replied,  "  I  have  a  boy  in  the  office  who  has 
plenty  of  time  and  he  might  do  it." 

I  told  the  lad  exactly  what  was  needed.  He 
had  begun  service  carrying  water  on  a  section ; 
afterwards  had  been  a  section  hand,  and  after- 
wards promoted  to  a  clerkship  in  the  superin- 
tendent's office. 

Within  a  short  time  he  came  back  with  what 
might  be  called  an  itineracy  of  the  car  for  every 
day  and  hour  of  its  journey.  Of  course,  I  was 
pleased  and  said,  ."If  that  is  the  way  you  do 
your  duty  you  will  be  a  superintendent  yourself 
some  day." 

Not  more  than  ten  years  afterwards  I  was  sit- 


205 


8 

ting  in  my  home  one  evening  when  the  bell  rang 
and  a  messenger  boy  brought  a  letter.  All  it  con- 
tained was,  "  I  have  got  it."  He  knew  how  to  do, 
and  did  do,  his  duty  exactly.  That  is  the  prac- 
tical part  rather  than  the  law  of  it.  But  let  us 
devote  a  moment  to  that  question. 

You  must  obey.  If  you  are  in  the  lower  lines 
of  duty,  it  is  not  yours  to  reason  why,  but  if  an 
order  comes,  it  is  to  obey  entirely. 

It  at  once  arises  in  the  minds  of  some  of  you 
that  the  railway  service,  then,  is  a  kind  of  mili- 
tary employment.  So  it  is.  If  one  goes  into  a 
country  where  the  railways  are  operated  as  gov- 
ernmental institutions,  and,  particularly  where 
they  are  considered  as  an  arm  of  the  military 
department,  as  in  Germany,  Italy  or  France,  you 
can  hardly  conceive  of  a  railway  servant  except 
as  standing  in  the  rank  of  a  soldier ;  because  he  is 
in  the  governmental,  and,  practically,  in  the  mili- 
tary service.  They  wear  a  governmental  uniform. 

And  so  in  this  country,  now,  some  lines  require 
distinct  badges  and  uniforms  ;  and  the  very  fact 
that  the  railway  men  wear  a  uniform  expresses 

206 


the  almost  unthought  concept  that  in  some  way 
the  railway  service  is  a  public  service,  like  a  gov- 
ernment service. 

Our  postal  men  are  required  to  wear  a  desig- 
nated uniform.  And  the  notion  as  to  railways 
is  growing,  from  the  fact  that  it  is  coming  to  be 
recognized  by  all,  that,  in  a  sense,  the  railway  is 
a  government  institution  and  not  a  private  affair. 

Another  indication  is  that  the  conductors  and 
officers  of  the  trains,  by  statutes,  are  made  police 
officers  ;  and  if  any  one  violates  the  law  upon  a 
train,  or  in  connection  with  it,  the  conductor  is 
clothed  with  police  powers,  as  a  constable,  sheriff 
or  policeman,  and  may  arrest  or  expel  the  offender 
without  writ  or  warrant. 

A  question  of  interest,  now  in  debate  through 
the  press,  in  legislative  bodies,  and  in  political 
campaigns,  in  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  status  of 
railway  men,  is  the  question  of  wages ;  because 
in  that  is  found  the  kernel  of  this  question. 

Is  the  railway  servant  free,  entirely,  to  do  as 
he  pleases  ?  Or  does  he  sustain  such  a  relation  to 
the  service  and  the  public  as  that  he,  in  some 


207 


IO 

measure,  surrenders  his  individual  wishes  to  the 
wishes  and  welfare  of  the  greater  public  ? 

In  the  first  place  the  law  is  always  careful  to 
protect  wage-earners.  It  used  to  be  that  a  rail 
way  company  could  go  on  and  pay  out  its  earn- 
ings to  the  bondholders  and  others,  and  put  off  its 
pay  rolls  until  it  came  to  bankruptcy,  and  then 
turn  the  property  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver, 
and  leave  the  employes  hungry  and  remediless. 

It  does  not  always  take  the  Legislature  to  make 
a  good  law.  The  real  fact  is  that  more  good  laws 
are  made  outside  than  inside  of  the  General 
Assembly.  They  are  made  by  the  courts. 

The  very  case  which  I  have  just  stated  came 
on  in  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States  at 
Indianapolis  some  years  ago.  A  great  number — 
a  thousand  men — engaged  in  operating  a  certain 
line,  had  not  been  paid  wages  for  five  or  six 
months.  The  road  was  put  in  receivership  ;  the 
men  appeared  at  the  bar  of  the  court  in  the  person 
of  an  eminent  lawyer  of  this  State,  now  dead  (Mr. 
Butler),  and  presented  their  claims  before  that 
great  jurist,  Judge  Drummond.  And  what  did  he 

208 


II 

do  ?  He  did  an  act  no  less  courageous  and  far- 
sighted  than  that  of  the  judges  to  whom  I  referred 
in  my  last  address.  He  made  a  law  that  any  rail- 
road that  came  into  a  federal  court  in  this  circuit, 
composed  of  the  states  of  Indiana,  Illinois  and 
Wisconsin,  should,  out  of  the  assets  of  the  prop- 
erty, if  necessary,  pay  employes  and  material 
men  their  back  wages  and  demands  for  the  period 
of  six  months,  before  applying  the  proceeds  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  bonds.  It  is  known  as  the  six 
months*  rule.  The  hands  of  some  people  went  up, 
and  a  hue  and  cry  went  over  the  land  that  this 
was  interfering  with  property  rights.  And  so  it 
was,  in  a  measure.  But  the  rule  was  sanctioned 
by  other  courts  throughout  the  land,  and  after- 
wards affirmed  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States ;  so  that  now  these  millions  of  rail- 
way men  are,  to-day,  perfectly  secure  in  their 
wages  by  the  simple  law  of  Judge'Drummond,  as 
first  given,  and  followed  and  adopted  by  the  courts 
in  the  evolution  of  right.  Now  no  railroad  lawyer, 
or  anybody  else,  denies  the  justness  of  the  rule. 


209 


12 

The  rule  is  regarded  as  one  of  necessity,  for 
that  roads  can  not  have  the  best  service  unless 
the  men  feel  that  their  wages  are  secure.  One 
who  doubts  whether  he  is  to  receive  his  pay  is 
not  that  efficient,  loyal  and  courageous  man  that 
the  service  necessarily  requires. 

Now,  this  thought  of  protecting  a  railway  ser- 
vant in  his  wages  was  not  a  new  concept  on  the 
part  of  Judge  Drummond.  Every  well-informed 
lawyer  knows  that  for  thousands  of  years  it  has 
been  the  law  of  the  sea  that  every  sailor  has  a 
lien  upon  the  ship  and  the  cargo  for  his  wages. 
And  so  when  a  sailor  enters  the  service  upon  a 
ship  for  a  voyage,  he  is  not  free  to  leave  the 
ship  at  any  port  during  the  voyage.  It  has 
always  been  the  law  of  the  sea  that  if  a  sailor 
wrongfully  leaves  the  ship  —  deserts  it,  if  you 
please — that  the  captain  has  the  right,  by  physical 
force,  to  arrest  him  wherever  found,  carry  him 
back  to  the  ship,  and  compel  him  to  continue  on 
the  voyage  and  perform  his  duties  ;  and,  further, 
if  the  captain  is  not  sufficient  by  himself,  or  his 
own  force,  to  compel  the  seaman  to  return  to  the 


210 


13 

ship,  he  may  call  upon  the  civil  authorities,  no 
matter  in  what  port  or  nation,  and  they  must  aid 
him  to  put  the  sailor  back  on  his  ship. 

It  is  apparent  that  maritime  business  could  not 
be  done,  cargoes  could  not  be  carried  around  the 
world,  and  life  would  not  be  safe  upon  the  seas, 
if,  whenever  a  ship  came  to  a  dock,  the  sailors 
might  desert,  and  leave  it  without  any  one  to 
navigate  it  to  the  end  of  the  voyage. 

Now,  it  was  this  law,  taken  from  the  sea  and 
applied  to  the  land,  that  led  Judge  Drummond,  no 
doubt,  to  make  the  rule  which  1  have  mentioned. 
Is  there  any  difference  in  principle  between  a 
vehicle  carrying  freight  or  passengers  on  water, 
or  on  land  ?  It  is  the  same  business,  and  under 
the  same  conditions,  Judge  Drummond  applied  the 
same  rule. 

Now,  if  this  rule  be  just  and  true  (and  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  United  States,  by  a  divided 
bench,  has  so  held),  then  may  a  railway  servant, 
of  his  own  free  will,  at  pleasure  leave  the  train  or 
service?  On  the  one  hand  it  is  said  that  Ameri- 
cans are  free  men.  They  have  the  right  to  quit 


211 


14 

work  whenever  they  want  to,  in  whatsoever  ser- 
vice, and  no  one  can  prevent  it.  On  the  other 
side,  it  is  said  if  one  enters  any  branch  of  the 
public  service,  then  he  must  stand  to  the  service 
and  subject  his  individual  wishes  to  the  welfare 
of  the  greater  public.  Over  this  there  is  now 
and  has  been  for  some  years  a  struggle  which 
is  not  yet  settled — I  can  not  attempt  to  settle  it, 
but  it  may  be  well  to  give  a  little  of  the  history  of 
the  question  and  see  how  far  the  evolution  has 
gone.  That  is  as  much,  perhaps,  as  we  will  un- 
dertake to-day. 

It  is  sufficient,  then,  to  say  that  about  twenty- 
five  years  ago  a  railroad  strike  occurred  in  Indi- 
ana over  wages,  and  it  so  happened  that  Judge 
Drummond  had  more  than  one  railroad  in  his 
court,  under  his  receivership  and  management. 

I  may  pause  to  say  that  if  some  man  engaged 
in  private  business  like  a  foundry,  or  dry  goods 
store,  finds  his  property  put  in  receivership,  the 
courts  would  not  carry  on  his  shop  or  his  trade. 

But  when  a  railroad  is  brought  into  a  court,  the 
court  always  runs  the  road  because  it  is  a  public 


212 


15 

highway  which  can  not  be  closed  and  must  be 
kept  in  operation  for  the  public  use. 

This  strike  involved  the  men  engaged  upon  the 
lines  under  the  direction  and  control  of  Judge 
Drummond.  They  would  not  continue  the  ser- 
vice themselves,  nor  permit  others  to  take  their 
places.  Judge  Drummond  brought  his  employes 
and  others  to  the  bar  of  his  court,  and  made  the 
rule  that  the  court  would  not  suffer  any  person  to 
interfere  with  the  operation  of  the  railway  ser- 
vice ;  but  he  did  not  declare  that  he  would  not  al- 
low as  many  of  the  men  as  desired  to  quit  the 
service — only  he  would  not  permit  any  person  to 
prevent  men  from  entering  the  service.  There 
was  a  good  deal  of  discussion,  but  finally  that  has 
been  accepted  throughout  the  country  as  the 
proper  rule. 

You  see  the  precise  question  whether  a  railway 
man  has  a  right  to  leave  the  employ  of  the  court 
or  railroad  was  not  then  and  there  involved  ;  but 
later,  and  within  the  recollection  of  each  of  you, 
the  question  did  arise  in  the  railway  strike  of  1894, 
or  rather  boycott,  because  a  strike  is  where  the 


213 


16 

men  say,  "We  will  not  work;"  a  boycott  is 
where  they  add,  "Neither  will  we  allow  any 
others  to  work  on  the  road,"  and  thus  stop  its 
business. 

In  1894  it  was  attempted  to  stop  the  entire  rail- 
way traffic  throughout  the  country,  to  force  a  set- 
tlement between  the  Pullman  Company  and  its 
employes.  Practically  all  the  traffic  throughout 
the  country  was  at  a  standstill.  Merchants  and 
bankers  could  not  send  their  letters  or  goods  and 
merchandise  ;  the  farmers'  freight  lay  at  the  sta- 
tions and  on  the  side  tracks ;  live  stock  at  the 
yards  remained  there.  It  was  as  if  a  great  earth- 
quake had  destroyed  the  railway  commerce  of  the 
country. 

Now,  what  was  to  be  done?  A  thing  was  done 
that  until  that  time  had  never  been  thought  of 
before.  The  Attorney-General  of  the  United 
States,  in  the  name  of  the  United  States,  filed  a 
bill  in  the  Federal  Court  at  Chicago,  stating  in 
substance  there  were  twenty-two  railroads  doing 
business  through  Chicago,  and  engaged  in  the 
business  of  carrying  passengers  and  freight  from 


214 


17 

one  state  to  another.  These  railways  were  also 
engaged  in  carrying  the  mails  and  express  matter 
for  all  the  people  of  the  country. 

The  case  showed  that  this  immense  traffic  was 
arrested  so  that  no  railroad  could  do  business,  and 
that  this  was  brought  about  by  certain  persons 
having  control  of  the  boycott. 

Upon  the  bill  being  filed,  the  Judges  issued  an 
injunction  which  read  something  like  this  : 

"We  command  you  and  all  other  persons  to 
desist  and  refrain  from  in  any  way  or  manner  in- 
terfering with,  hindering,  obstructing  or  stopping 
any  of  the  business  of  any  of  these  named  rail- 
roads as  common  carriers  of  passengers  or  freight 
between  and  among  any  of  the  states  of  the  Union, 
or  obstructing  or  stopping  any  mail  train,  express 
train,  or  other  train,  whether  freight  or  passenger, 
engaged  in  interstate  traffic." 

Almost  the  entire  volume  of  railway  traffic  in 
this  country  has  now  come  to  cross  state  lines  in 
the  journey,  so  as  to  fall  within  the  protection  of 
the  Federal  Constitution  and  laws. 


2I5 


i8 

This  was  an  evolution  in  railway  jurisprudence 
such  as  had  never  before  been  applied. 

A  court  that  issues  such  a  writ  or  command  is 
bound  to  enforce  it,  and  the  enforcement  leads  to 
the  arrest  of  the  wrongdoer,  bringing  him  to  the 
bar,  trying  him  without  a  jury,  and  if  found  guilty, 
fining,  or  sentencing  him  to  imprisonment  within 
the  discretion  of  the  court.  There  is  no  jury 
trial. 

Mr.  Debs  and  others  were  brought  to  the  bar  of 
the  court,  tried  and  sentenced.  They  carried  the 
case  in  a  way 'I  need  not  stop  to  explain,  to  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

Here,  then,  was  a  test  that  challenged  the 
thought  of  every  man  throughout  the  country, 
whether  he  was  a  professional  man  or  a  layman. 
What  power  has  a  state  or  the  United  States  to 
keep  open  these  great  highways  of  commerce? 
Because  the  United  States  has  no  more  power 
over  the  interstate  railroads  than  the  State  of  In- 
diana or  any  other  state  has  over  the  railways 
lying  and  doing  business  wholly  within  such  state. 
It  is  a  governmental  power — a  sovereign  power. 

216 


19 

And  by  sovereign  I  mean  a  power  above  which 
there  can  be  no  higher  power,  and  which  springs 
from  itself  and  executes  itself. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  held 
there  was  such  a  power,  and  held  a  court  did 
right  in  issuing  the  injunction.  But  this  case,  you 
will  observe,  did  not  reach  to  the  precise  question 
of  the  right  of  the  railway  man  to  quit  work ;  the 
scope  and  purpose  of  the  case  was  to  restrain  the 
forcible  obstruction  of  these  great  national  high- 
ways along  which  interstate  commerce  traveled, 
mails  are  carried,  and  the  business  of  the  country 
interchanged  and  done. 

In  substance  the  Court  said  :  "  The  strong  arm 
of  the  National  Government  may  be  put  forth  to 
brush  away  all  obstructions  to  the  freedom  of 
Interstate  Commerce  or  the  transportation  of  the 
mails.  If  an  emergency  arises,  the  army  of  the 
Nation  and  all  its  militia  are  at  the  service  of  the 
Government  to  compel  obedience  to  the  laws." 

And  in  consonance  with  this  last  thought,  Pres- 
ident Cleveland  did  a  thing  that  never  had  been 


217 


20 

done  before,  and  for  which  a  great  number  of 
people  have  criticised  him.  What  did  he  do? 

Here  were  these  national  highways  of  commerce 
obstructed  so  that  vehicles  could  not  move ;  the 
mails  could  not  be  carried  and  distributed  ;  and  he 
sent  the  army  into  Chicago  to  open  the  roads. 
That  is  all  there  is  of  it.  He  opened  the  roads 
by  force.  To  open  the  roads  he  put  armed  sol- 
diers on  the  locomotives  and  on  the  trains,  so  that 
they  could  not  be  stopped  in  their  movements. 
He  did  not  send  the  army  to  Chicago  to  put  down 
the  mob.  Whether  he  had  a  right  to  do  so  or  not 
is  not  within  the  province  of  this  discussion.  He 
had  a  right  to  open  these  national  roads — just  as 
much  right,  and  no  more,  as  a  road  supervisor  in 
any  road  district  in  Indiana  has  a  right  to  open  a 
road  if  one  wrongfully  fells  a  tree  across  it,  or 
raises  a  barricade,  or  tears  up  a  bridge,  or  refuses 
to  let  wagons  go  by. 

So  that  this  much  is  settled,  namely  :  All  the 
railroads  in  this  country  engaged  in  national  busi- 
ness are  national  roads,  and  the  Nation  will  see 
that  there  is  no  obstruction  put  by  anybody  at 

218 


21 

any  time  upon  the  movement  of  the  mails  or 
national  traffic.  And  the  same  is  true  as  to  the 
several  states. 

There  is  a  notion  in  the  minds  of  some  that 
there  is  a  difference  between  a  mail  car  and  a 
passenger  car  or  a  freight  car.  There  is  none. 
The  freight  car  that  is  loaded  with  interstate 
freight,  the  mail  car  that  is  loaded  with  national 
mails,  or  the  passenger  car  that  has  one  or  more 
interstate  passengers,  are  alike  entitled  to  national 
protection,  because  they  are  each  and  all  under 
the  jurisdiction  and  within  the  protection  and 
control  of  the  United  States  Government,  under 
that  great  power  of  the  Constitution  which  gives 
to  Congress  "  power  to  regulate  commerce  be- 
tween the  states."  Each  state  has  the  same 
power  over  its  own  commerce. 

It  thus  appears  we  have  not  yet  reached  the 
precise  question,  whether  a  railway  man,  or  a 
number  of  railway  men,  may  leave  the  service  at 
any  time  at  their  own  will.  If  they  are,  in  fact, 
engaged  in  a  public  service,  like  unto  soldiers  in 
the  army,  seamen  on  a  merchantman  or  sailors  in 

219 


22 

the  navy,  or  policemen  in  the  municipal  service, 
it  is  easy  to  see  they  can  not.  It  would  not  be 
thought  that  all  the  police  officers  in  LaFayette, 
Indianapolis,  Chicago  or  New  York,  at  roM-call  at 
night,  when  there  was  likely  to  be  a  disturbance 
and  melees  in  the  streets,  might,  willy-nilly,  aban- 
don the  peace  of  the  city  and  retire  from  service, 
leaving  the  whole  city  without  protection  to  lives 
and  property.  No  more  could  a  city  fire  force 
leave  the  service  in  face  of  a  conflagration. 

But  do  railway  men  sustain  the  same  relation 
as  policemen,  firemen,  soldiers  and  sailors? 

Perhaps  that  can  not  be  settled  until  another 
proposition  is  put  at  rest;  and  that  is  whether 
railway  men,  as  between  themselves  and  the  com 
panics  are  in  law  in  the  public  service.  That 
question  did  arise  two  or  three  years  ago,  in  what 
is  known  as  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  case. 
That  road,  reaching  from  the  lakes  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  and  being  one  of  the  great  national  high- 
ways, came  into  the  control  of  the  Federal  Court 
in  Wisconsin.  The  men  entered  into  an  arrange- 
ment or  understanding  that  if  their  wages  were 


220 


23 

not  made  satisfactory  to  them,  then,  at  a  certain 
time,  everywhere  between  the  lakes  and  the  Pa- 
cific, they  would  all  leave  their  trains  and  service, 
and  the  whole  railway  would  thus  be  blocked. 
Had  they  such  a  right?  The  Judge  presiding  in  the 
court  issued  a  writ  in  the  nature  of  an  injunction, 
in  which  he  said,  in  substance,  that  they  should 
not  leave  the  service  in  a  body  or  singly  for  the 
purpose  of  stopping  operations  of  the  road  under 
his  administration  and  control,  and  declaring,  if 
they  did,  he  would  hold  it  a  contempt  of  his  court, 
and  punish  them  accordingly.  The  case  was  re- 
moved by  appeal  into  the  Federal  Court  of  Ap- 
peals, sitting  in  Chicago,  and  came  on  to  be  heard 
with  Mr.  Justice  Harlan  presiding.  He  is  one  of 
the  Supreme  Justices  of  the  United  States,  and 
delivered  the  opinion  in  this  case.  He  denied  any 
such  power,  and  declared:  "It  would  be  an  in- 
vasion of  one's  natural  liberty  to  compel  him  to 
work  for  or  to  remain  in  the  personal  service  of 
another.  One  who  is  placed  under  such  con- 
straint is  in  a  condition  of  involuntary  servitude — 
a  condition  which  the  supreme  law  of  the  land 


221 


24 

declares  shall  not  exist  within  the  United  States 
or  any  place  subject  to  their  jurisdiction." 

And  he  added,  in  effect,  that  the  fact  that  the  em- 
ployes of  railways  might  quit  under  circumstances 
bringing  about  inconvenience  and  injury  to  the 
great  public  would  not  justify  a  departure  from 
the  well-settled  rule  that  a  court  would  not  com- 
pel the  actual  affirmative  performance  of  merely 
personal  service  against  the  will  of  such  servant. 
It  is  fair  to  say  this  dissented  from  the  decision 
in  regard  to  sailors  mentioned  a  few  minutes  since. 
And  so  the  question  rests.  It  has  not  been  de- 
termined by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States. 

I  have  said  enough  to  show  that  railway  law 
grows  by  the  process  of  necessity  or  evolution ; 
and  in  this  country,  where  questions  of  this  kind 
are  more  or  less  controlled  by  public  discussion 
and  political  debate  and  contention,  it  can  not  be 
affirmed  with  certainty  what  form  the  settlement 
which  must  come,  will  ultimately  assume.  It  is 
not  improbable  that  in  the  end,  Congress,  under 
the  power  to  regulate  national  commerce,  will  pass 

222 


25 

laws  regulating  the  question  when  and  how  men 
may  enter  and  withdraw  from  what  I  may  now 
call  the  national  railway  service.  And  if  so,  it 
necessarily  follows  that  provision  must  be  made 
for  settling  and  protecting  the  men  in  their 
rights  and  wages  and  at  the  same  time,  also, 
protecting  the  rights  of  all  the  people  to  use  the 
national  railways  without  partiality  or  favor. 
And  this  would  seem  at  the  present  time  to  be 
the  consensus  of  public  opinion. 

Now,  gentlemen,  I  have  done  the  task  which  I 
set  before  me,  arid  if,  in  your  lives,  from  time  to 
time,  these  questions  meet  you,  and  you  shall 
happen  to  find  that  what  1  have  said  may  have 
helped  you  in  the  performance  of  your  duties,  1 
will  be,  1  beg  to  assure  you,  amply  repaid  for  the 
little  labor  I  have  found  it  necessary  to  expend  in 
the  preparation  of  these  addresses. 


(3)  223 


VII. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  A  LOCOMO 
TIVE  ENGINEER. 


ANGUS  SINCLAIR. 


[In  obedience  to  a  request  of  the  author,  this  lecture 
will  not  appear  in  published  form.  It  should  be  said  con- 
cerning it,  however,  that  the  incidents  related  were  drawn 
from  an  extensive  experience  and  illustrated  with  remark- 
able force  many  of  the  conditions  attending  the  early 
development  of  railways  in  our  western  states.  Each 
story  was  utilized  to  give  emphasis  to  some  important 
truth.  Indeed,  the  lecture  was  made  up  of  fun  and  phil- 
osophy mixed,  in  proportions  which  gave  to  both  their 
maximum  value. — ED.] 


225 


VIII. 

BUSINESS  PROBLEMS  OF  THE 
MOTIVE    POWER    DEPARTMENT. 


ROBERT  QUAYLE. 


SIXTY-FIVE  years  ago  railroads  were  prac- 
tically unknown.  History  records  their 
small  beginnings  with  crude  equipment. 
Strange  looking  locomotives  were  used  that 
weighed  hardly  more  than  a  modern  dray.  The 
cars  were  modeled  from  the  stage  coaches  of 
that  time,  and  they  were  run  on  track  of  the  most 
flimsy  character.  The  speeds  were  slow  and  the 
service  very  uncertain,  but  from  this  small  and. 
crude  beginning  evolved  the  world's  great  sys- 
tems of  rail  transportation,  which  in  this  country 
alone  aggregate  over  184,000  miles  of  track,  and 

227 


require  in  the  conduct  of  its  immense  business 
36,000  locomotives,  34,000  passenger  cars  and 
1,200,000  freight  cars,  while  the  capital  employed 
is  calculated  by  hundreds  of  millions,  and  the 
great  army  of  employes  by  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands. The  development  of  the  resources  of  our 
country  resulting  therefrom  has  been  remarkable, 
and  the  advancement  of  civilization  not  less 
notable. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  the  financial  and 
commercial  problems  involved  in  the  creation  and 
operation  of  these  great  properties — complicated 
as  the  situation  often  was  by  the  fact  that  rail- 
road construction  did  not  wait  the  development  of 
the  country,  but  was  generally  in  the  lead  and 
opened  up  the  way  for  it — have  become  complex 
in  character  and  of  great  magnitude. 

It  is  not  my  purpose,  however,  to  dwell  upon 
the  wonderfully  rapid  growth  of  our  railroads,  nor 
^he  effect  upon  the  prosperity  of  our  country,  nor 
even  upon  the  business  and  financial  problems 
arising  in  the  government  of  these  great  proper- 
ties as  a  whole,  but  rather  to  take  the  situation  as 

228 


we  find  it  to-day  and  to  give  you  some  insight  into 
a  few  of  the  business  problems  of  the  motive- 
power  departments  of  fairly  large  railroad  corpo- 
rations. 

To  many  of  you,  who  have  for  several  years 
been  studying  various  branches  of  engineering 
and  fitting  yourselves  for  battling  successfully 
with  the  many  technical  problems  that  are  sure 
to  confront  you  in  the  practice  of  your  chosen 
professions,  it  may  appear  as  if  the  technical 
problems  requiring  solution  by  those  in  charge  of 
motive  power,  are  more  numerous,  if  not  more 
important,  than  the  business  problems  they  are 
called  upon  to  solve.  That  this  is  not  the  case 
will  be  clear  upon  proper  reflection.  You  have 
doubtless  learned,  under  the  excellent  practical 
instruction  you  have  received  at  this  university, 
that  every  engineering  question  has  its  commer- 
cial and  business  side ;  and  the  importance  of 
always  seeing  this  side  and  giving  it  due  promi- 
nence will  be  impressed  upon  you  more  and  more  as 
you  add  to  your  experience  in  the  practice  of  your 
profession.  In  fact,  every  situation  or  condition  of 

229 


affairs  that  requires  the  services  of  the  engineer 
calls  for  the  production  by  him  of  structures  or 
mechanisms  that  will  not  only  meet  the  require- 
ments of  the  situation  but  will  do  it  with  a  mini- 
mum expenditure  of  capital,  or  will  give  the 
greatest  returns  from  the  investment.  The  suc- 
cessful engineer  is  he  whose  judgment  is  so 
trained  that  the  capital  of  those  who  depend  upon 
it  will  be  wisely  and  safely  invested.  He  must  not 
only  answer  such  questions  as,  "Can  this  or  that 
be  done?"  and  "How  can  it  best  be  done?"  but 
he  must  give  equally  reliable  answers  to  such 
questions  as,  "Will  it  pay  to  do  it?"  Thus,  the 
rule  is  that  his  engineering  problems  are  closely 
interwoven  with  considerations  of  a  commercial 
nature.  The  conduct  of  a  motive-power  depart- 
ment of  a  large  railroad  system  forms  no  excep- 
tion to  this  rule. 

In  the  earlier  days  of  railroading  the  duties  of 
General  Manager,  Superintendent,  Master  Me- 
chanic, etc.,  were  usually  performed  by  one  per- 
son, but  as  the  business  became  more  extensive 
it  was  found  necessary  to  divide  the  work  among 

230 


5 

several  men,  each  with  specific  duties  and  respon- 
sibilities, and  as  the  business  still  further  in- 
creased, the  division  of  the  duties  became  more 
complete,  and  the  organization  was  separated 
into  numerous  departments,  each  with  a  certain 
designated  work  to  perform,  and  the  work  of  all  to 
be  directed  to  the  welfare  of  the  organization  as  a 
whole.  The  mechanical  or  motive-power  depart- 
ment is  one  of  these  several  departments  in  such 
an  organization,  and  its  duties  involve  the  design, 
construction,  maintenance,  and  operation  of  the 
locomotive  and  the  supervision  of  the  men  who 
operate  it,  except  as  these  men  come  under  the 
rules  and  direction  of  the  operating  department. 
The  end  for  which  the  department  was  created  is 
of  course  that  of  keeping  the  wheels  turning.  It 
must  be  apparent,  however,  that  as  one  of  the 
many  departments  it  is  necessary  to  make  the 
work  of  this  one  to  fit  into  the  needs  of  the  oth- 
ers, and  to  so  conduct  its  own  affairs  as  to  bring 
them  in  harmony  with  the  aims  and  resources  of 
the  organization  as  a  whole.  This  might  properly 
be  designated  as  the  grand  business  problem  of 


231 


6 

the  department.  The  department  is  not  an  iso- 
lated organization,  but  is  closely  interwoven,  in 
its  work  and  interests,  with  the  operating  and 
other  departments,  and  to  successfully  carry  on 
its  business  there  is  need  of  a  breadth  of  mind 
that  will  clearly  discern  the  relations  of  the  mo- 
tive power  to  other  departments,  and  the  effect  of 
any  given  policy  within  the  department  upon  the 
work  of  the  others ;  for  a  policy  that  looks  all 
right  when  viewed  only  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  single  department  may  be  all  wrong  when 
considered  in  its  effect  upon  the  organization  as  a 
whole.  If  the  carrying  out  of  a  certain  policy 
would  result  in  a  saving  in  the  mechanical  depart- 
ment of  $10,000  per  year,  but  would  involve  ex- 
penditures in  other  departments  of  $10,500,  it 
would  not  be  justified,  unless  the  benefit  to  the 
company  through  the  improvement  of  its  service 
would  be  worth  the  $500  increased  expenditure. 
Thus  at  the  outset  we  find  that  what  we  might 
call  the  external  relations  of  the  department  form 
a  problem  that  can  be  solved  only  by  the  applica- 
tion of  strictly  business  principles,  and  we  will 


232 


see  later  on  that  the  effect  is  so  far-reaching  as  to 
have  an  influence  even  on  locomotive  designs  and 
shop  practices.  To  ignore  these  facts  is  to  travel 
in  ruts  that  are  constantly  narrowing  and  deepen- 
ing until  the  best  work  of  the  mechanical  depart- 
ment is  wholly  lost  to  the  company. 

Before  turning  to  the  problems  within  the  de- 
partment it  may  be  well  to  give  you  some  idea  of 
its  expenses,  from  which  you  can  judge  of  the 
magnitude  of  its  problems.  The  average  cost  of 
the  locomotives  may  be  placed  at  $9,000,  while 
the  average  capital  expenditure  per  locomotive  for 
round  houses,  shops,  tools,  etc.,  is  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  $5,000.  Thus  each  locomotive  and 
the  equipment  necessary  to  take  care  of  it  repre- 
sents an  approximate  expenditure  of  $14,000. 

The  cost  of  the  operation  of  the  locomotive  in- 
cludes the  fuel,  oil,  waste,  enginemen's  wages, 
round-house  labor,  cost  of  repairs  and  supplies. 
The  cost  of  the  fuel  varies  in  different  localities, 
being  less  than  one  dollar  per  ton  for  coal  in  some 
eastern  districts  and  more  than  five  dollars  in 
parts  of  the  far  west.  If,  however,  we  assume 


233 


8 

an  average  of  $1.75  per  ton  for  coal  we  will  not 
be  far  out  of  the  way. 

We  will  also  assume  that  an  engine  runs  26 
miles  to  a  ton  of  coal,  and  makes  36,000  miles  per 
year ;  then  the  cost  of  fuel  per  annum  will  be 
$2,423.  The  wages  of  the  engineer  and  fireman 
will  average  about  6.2  cents  per  mile,  and  all 
round-house  labor  will  average  about  1.4  cents 
per  mile,  or  a  total  for  labor  of  7.6  cents  per  mile, 
or  $2,736  per  year.  The  oil  and  waste  will  cost 
about  .2  cent  per  mile,  or  $72  per  year.  The 
repairs  and  supplies  will  cost  approximately  4 
cents  per  mile,  or  a  total  of  $1,440  per  year. 
The  cost  of  water  we  will  estimate  at  .2  cent  per 
mile,  or  $72  per  year.  We  thus  find  the  several 
items  of  "  cost  of  operation  "  to  aggregate  $6,743, 
exclusive  of  all  interest  charges  on  capital  em- 
ployed. It  is  not  unusual  for  large  railroad  sys- 
tems to  possess  500  locomotives,  and  quite  a 
number  of  them  own  more  than  1,000.  From  the 
above  figures  it  will  be  seen  that  the  operation  of 
500  locomotives  calls  for  an  average  expenditure, 


234 


through  the  mechanical  department,  of  $3,371,- 
500,  and  for  1,000  engines  the  sum  becomes 
$6,743,000  per  year.  It  is,  therefore,  needless 
to  say  that  in  the  expenditure  of  such  large  sums 
as  these,  and  the  treatment  of  a  portion  of  a  com- 
pany's business  so  important  and  having  such  an 
important  bearing  on  its  interests,  every  prob- 
lem, no  matter  what  its  character,  has  its  business 
side  as  distinguished  from  its  narrower  or  purely 
technical  nature. 

Turning  now  to  affairs  within  the  department, 
we  find  that  there  are  several  important  problems 
in  connection  with  the  operation  of  the  locomotive 
and  the  service  it  renders  the  company.  We  all 
look  upon  the  locomotive  with  a  great  deal  of 
sentiment,  the  proof  of  which  is  constantly  forth- 
coming in  the  interest  manifested  in  its  perform- 
ance. Every  account  of  a  fast  run  is  read  with 
interest  by  the  general  public,  as  well  as  by  the 
railroad  men,  and  we  are  thrilled  by  the  records 
of  great  bursts  of  speed  made  on  the  rails.  The 
modern  locomotive,  with  its  great  boiler  and  gen 
erally  massive  and  powerful  appearance,  hauling 

235 


10 

a  passenger  train  of  ten  or  twelve  long,  heavy 
cars  at  the  rate  of  forty-five  or  fifty  miles  per 
hour,  gives  an  impression  of  majesty  and  power 
not  soon  forgotten  by  the  observer,  who  is  only 
far  enough  away  from  it  to  be  safe.  And  as  we 
stand  in  the  depots  in  some  of  our  large  cities  and 
see  these  trains  arrive,  at  the  end  of  their  long 
and  rapid  journeys  of  one  thousand  miles  or 
more,  often  on  time  to  the  minute,  and  realize 
that  in  daylight  and  darkness,  sunshine  or  storm, 
they  sweep  over  great  plains,  and  over  or  through 
mountain  ranges,  sometimes  toiling  slowly  and 
powerfully  up  heavy  grades  only  to  dash  with 
renewed  speed  down  the  mountain  sides  and  into 
the  valleys,  that  this  great  burden  has  been  car- 
ried such  immense  distances  in  safety  by  ma- 
chinery that  is  the  creation  of  man's  ingenuity 
and  industry,  we  feel  that  it  is  indeed  wonderful. 
Our  great  freight  locomotives,  of  slower  speed 
but  of  much  greater  weight  and  power,  also  en- 
gage our  attention  as  we  see  them  coupled  to 
fifty,  sixty,  or  more,  loaded  cars  working  heroic- 
ally to  reach  their  destination  on  time. 

236 


II 

Many  students  of  the  steam  engine  are  inter- 
ested in  the  performance  of  the  locomotive  as  a 
heat  motor  and  peruse  carefully  the  figures  for  the 
coal  and  water  consumption  obtained  by  elaborate 
tests,  and  are  gratified  to  note  the  economy  ob- 
tained as  the  result  of  gradual  improvement  in 
design.  The  motive-power  official  may  possess 
his  share  of  sentiment,  and  certainly  should  be 
alive  to  all  improvements  that  will  increase  the 
economy  of  the  locomotive  as  a  heat  engine,  but 
he  must  also  look  upon  his  motive  power  from  afar 
more  business-like  standpoint.  He  must  consider 
the  locomotive  as  a  machine — a  tool  created  for  a 
purpose — representing  a  large  investment  of  capi- 
tal and  costing  annually  a  considerable  sum  for  its 
operation,  and  must  be  deeply  concerned  in  mak- 
ing it  give  the  largest  possible  return  to  the  com- 
pany. If  to  attain  this  end  he  must  violate,  in- 
the  construction  or  operation  of  the  engine,  prin- 
ciples which  he  knows  tend  toward  economy  of 
water  and  fuel,  it  is  his  business  to  do  it.  And  I 
have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  to  the  carrying 
out  of  this  wise  and  business-like  policy  are  due 


237 


12 

some  features  of  locomotive  practice  that  are 
sometimes  condemned  by  those  who  are  apt  to 
look  upon  the  subject  entirely  from  the  standpoint 
of  economy  in  fuel. 

Perhaps  I  can  best  illustrate  this  business  prob- 
lem by  a  comparison  which  every  motive  power 
official  has  had  to  make  at  some  time,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  rating  of  his  engines.  The  tests 
that  have  been  made  upon  the  locomotive  in  the 
testing  laboratory  of  this  university  demonstrate 
that  the  most  economical  point  of  cut-off  is  be- 
tween one-quarter  and  one-third  of  the  stroke. 
Other  tests  made  on  this  same  plant  show  that 
as  the  locomotive  boiler  is  forced  and  the  rate  of 
combustion  increased,  the  rate  of  evaporation 
falls  off  rapidly.  The  conclusion  is  therefore 
warranted  that  with  a  given  speed  a  cut-off  later 
than  one-third  of  the  stroke  will  result  in  a  loss 
of  economy,  both  in  the  boiler  and  the  cylinders. 
Are  we,  therefore,  warranted  in  endeavoring  to 
operate  our  locomotives  under  these  conditions  of 
maximum  fuel  economy?  The  work  of  the  en- 
gine varies  so  much  with  the  grades  that  we  can 

238 


13 

not  expect  to  run  at  a  uniform  rate  of  cut-off,  but 
is  it  economy  to  endeavor  to  give  the  locomotive 
such  a  load  that  it  will  average  one-quarter  to  one- 
third  cut-off  ?  Let  us  look  into  the  question. 
Suppose  ours  is  a  nineteen  inch  engine  in  freight 
service  on  a  hilly  division  and  that  under  a  limita- 
tion of  the  average  cut-off  to  one-third,  the  ton- 
nage which  it  can  haul  over  the  division  is  six 
hundred  tons,  exclusive  of  its  own  weight  and 
that  of  the  waycar.  Let  us  further  assume  that 
if  the  engine  is  worked  to  its  utmost  capacity 
on  the  ruling  grades,  even  if  by  so  doing  we 
must  run  it  for  many  miles  at  from  one-half 
to  full  stroke,  we  will  be  able  to  haul  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  tons.  The  train  and  engine 
crews'  wages  will  amount  to  about  13.2  cents 
per  mile  or  $13.20  per  one  hundred  miles. 
When  hauling  the  heavier  train  we  are  getting 
25  per  cent,  more  tonnage  over  the  division  for 
the  same  cost  in  wages,  and  thereby  effecting  a 
saving  of  $3.30  for  each  hundred  miles  the  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  tons  are  hauled.  This  is  a 
clear  gain  in  operating  expenses.  Now,  let  us 


239 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 

O 


14 

look  at  the  actual  consumption  of  fuel  and  in 
doing  this  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  while 
our  nominal  weights  of  trains  are  six  hundred, 
and  seven  hundred  and  fifty  tons,  respectively, 
the  real  weights,  allowing  one  hundred  tons 
for  the  engine  and  tender  and  fifteen  tons  for 
the  waycar,  are  seven  hundred  and  fifteen,  and 
eight  hundred  and  sixty-five  tons,  respectively. 
Evidently  the  weights  of  the  engine,  tender 
and  waycar  form  a  fixed  quantity  in  our  calcula- 
tions and  that  the  heavier  the  train  the  less 
the  percentage  of  the  total  work  of  the  engine 
needed  to  overcome  their  resistance,  and  the  in- 
ternal resistance  of  the  engine.  Evidently  the 
coal  consumption  in  our  comparison  should  be 
figured  on  the  basis  of  the  tonnage  of  the  cars  and 
their  contents  only,  for  upon  this  is  based  the 
earnings  of  the  train.  For  the  six  hundred  ton 
train  the  coal  consumption  may  be  taken  at  say 
seventeen  pounds  of  coal  per  hundred  ton-miles, 
or  ten  thousand  two  hundred  pounds  to  haul 
the  train  one  hundred  miles.  For  the  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  ton  train  the  consumption 


240 


15 

per  hundred  ton-miles  will  be  about  one  and 
one- half  pounds  less,  or  say  fifteen  and  five-tenths 
pounds  per  hundred  ton-miles.  In  other  words, 
the  lesser  percentage  of  the  total  work  of  the  en 
gine  expended  upon  itself,  its  tender  and  the  way- 
car,  more  than  offsets  the  increased  consumption 
of  coal  per  indicated  horse  power.  The  total  con- 
sumption for  the  seven  hundred  and  fifty  tons 
hauled  one  hundred  miles  will  be  about  eleven 
thousand  six  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds. 
Thus,  while  the  total  consumption  of  coal  per  trip 
is  of  course  greater  for  the  heavier  train,  the  con- 
sumption per  hundred  ton-miles  is  less  ;  conse- 
quently the  fuel  bill  to  haul  three  thousand  tons  of 
cars  and  contents  will  be  less  if  it  is  taken  over 
the  road  in  four  trains  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
tons  instead  of  five  trains  of  six  hundred  tons.  So 
we  have  saved  money  in  both  wages  and  fuel  per 
hundred  ton-miles.  But  the  question  is  broader 
still.  Evidently  fewer  engines  resulting  in  a  lesser 
investment  are  required  ;  furthermore,  while  the 
cost  of  repairs  per  mile  run  by  the  engine  may  be 
greater,  the  cost  per  hundred  ton-miles  of  train 


241 


i6 

hauled  will  be  less.  Again,  the  fewer  engines  will 
mean  a  smaller  investment  in  round  houses,  shops, 
machinery,  etc.,  and  last,  but  not  least,  the  opera- 
ting expenses  will  be  reduced  in  more  ways  than 
train  crew  wages,  and  the  liability  of  accident  will 
be  lessened  by  the  fewer  number  of  trains.  Thus 
the  broader  the  light  in  which  this  question  is 
viewed  the  greater  the  economy  of  working  the 
locomotive  beyond  the  point  of  maximum  economy 
per  indicated  horse  power. 

That  this  view  of  this  business  problem  is  correct 
will  be  acceded  to  by  every  motive-power  official. 
The  situation  may  appear  to  you  to  be  paradox- 
ical, particularly  in  regard  to  the  item  of  fuel, 
but  that  coal  can  be  saved  by  loading  an  engine 
heavily  we  have  proof  of  daily.  The  road  with 
which  the  writer  is  connected  keeps  an  individual 
coal  record  by  which  the  consumption  of  coal  per 
hundred  ton-miles  by  each  engineer  is  recorded. 
In  a  group  of  men  in  comparable  freight  service 
on  one  division  the  best  performance  in  November 
last  was  fifteen  and  nine-tenths  pounds  per  hun- 
dred ton-miles,  the  engineer  having  an  average 

242 


17 

train  of  eight  hundred  and  fifty-three  tons.  The 
poorest  record  was  twenty-eight  and  seven-tenths 
pounds,  but  the  average  train  was  only  three 
hundred  and  seventy-eight  tons.  Of  course 
there  are  differences  in  engines,  which  was  true 
in  this  case,  but  all  our  coal  accounts  support  the 
statement  that,  other  things  being  equal,  the 
heavier  the  train  the  less  the  consumption  per 
hundred  ton-miles.  The  limit  to  this  rule  is  not 
reached  before  the  engine  is  so  overloaded  that 
the  required  time  can  not  be  made.  So  evident 
is  this  to  our  engineers  that  they  are  anxious  to 
haul  the  heaviest  trains  of  which  their  engines  are 
capable,  as  by. this  means  only  will  their  records 
compare  favorably  with  others  in  the  same  class 
of  work. 

This  same  mode  of  reasoning,  by  which  the 
work  of  the  engine  is  viewed  by  its  effect  upon 
the  net  cost  of  hauling  tonnage  rather  than  its 
economy  in  fuel  per  horse  power,  must  apply  to 
other  questions  involved  in  locomotive  construc- 
tion and  operation.  On  this  basis  the  size  of 
locomotives  have  been  constantly  increasing  and 


243 


i8 

will  continue  to  increase.  Anything  which  adds 
to  the  economy  of  performance,  but  limits  the 
amount  of  work  that  can  be  obtained  from  the 
engine,  either  by  reducing  the  tonnage  it  can 
haul  per  trip  or  reducing  the  mileage  it  can  make 
per  year,  can  not  hope  to  succeed.  If  a  compli- 
cated valve  gear  would  save  five  or  ten  per  cent. 
in  fuel,  but  would  cause  the  engine  to  miss  a  trip 
occasionally  because  of  repairs  necessary  to  the 
mechanism,  the  loss  of  the  service  of  the  engine 
to  the  company  in  busy  seasons  would  possibly 
more  than  offset  the  saving  in  fuel.  On  the 
other  hand,  simple,  strong  and  reliable  construc- 
tion of  the  locomotive,  facilities  for  quickly  repair- 
ing it,  and  everything  that  will  add  to  its  useful 
mileage  per  year,  is  worthy  of  careful  study.  At 
the  same  time  the  necessity  of  meeting  these 
conditions  does  not  relieve  the  motive  power  offi- 
cial of  getting  the  greatest  possible  economy  out 
of  the  locomotive  as  an  engine,  after  he  has  met 
the  conditions  noted,  and  if  he  does  his  whole 
duty  he  will  be  eager  enough,  in  his  attempt  to 


244 


19 

obtain  this  economy,  to  satisfy  the  most  enthusi- 
astic student  of  the  steam  engine. 

In  connection  with  the  shops  and  the  work  done 
in  them  there  are  numerous  business  problems. 
It  is  not  given  to  every  superintendent  of  motive 
power  to  locate  and  build  up  a  great  plant  that 
shall  meet  the  company's  needs.  But  when  such 
a  plant  is  to  be  built,  the  same  business  consider- 
ations obtain  as  in  the  creation  of  a  manufactur- 
ing establishment.  Most  of  us,  however,  find  on 
the  roads  we  serve  a  more  or  less  complete  equip- 
ment of  round  houses  and  shops,  with  which  we 
must  do  the  best  we  can.  Oftentimes  these 
shops,  in  their  location,  size  and  character  of  their 
buildings,  are  far  from  being  perfect,  not  neces- 
sarily because  some  one  blundered  when  they 
were  built,  but  because  no  one  could  foresee  the 
extent  of  the  growth  of  the  company's  business 
and  the  extension  of  its  track  and  equipment. 
Furthermore,  as  most  of  our  large  railroad  systems 
have  reached  their  present  size  by  the  consolida 
tion  and  absorption  of  smaller  lines,  each  of  which, 
when  independent,  had  shops  of  its  own,  it  is  not 


245 


2O 

surprising  to  find  a  system  provided  with  many 
shops,  more  or  less  completely  equipped  for  doing 
the  work  of  general  repairs,  and  yet  not  one  of 
them  with  all  the  facilities  for  doing  work  cheaply 
and  on  a  large  scale.  This  situation  presents 
another  business  problem.  The  round  houses, 
also,  may  have  been  originally  located  with  refer- 
ence to  the  needs  of  the  short  lines  now  consoli- 
dated into  the  larger  system,  and  with  the  prac- 
tice of  having  our  locomotive  runs  average  but 
little  more  than  one  hundred  miles,  which  pre- 
vailed until  recent  years,  these  houses  may  all  be 
in  use.  Again,  we  have  a  business  problem 
before  us.  Every  such  point  involves  certain 
expenditures  for  superintendence,  etc.,  and  the 
smaller  the  number  of  locomotives  handled  at  a 
given  point  the  higher  the  ratio  of  these  expendi- 
tures to  the  total  outlay.  Then  the  cost  of  dis- 
patching and  round-house  labor  is  not  dependent 
upon  the  length  of  the  run  the  locomotive  has 
made,  but  is  as  great  for  a  trip  of  one  hundred 
miles  as  it  is  for  two  hundred  miles.  Conse- 
quently, where  division  terminals  can  be  so 

246 


21 

changed  as  to  give  the  locomotives  longer  runs, 
round  houses  can  be  closed,  resulting  in  a  consid- 
erable reduction  in  the  amount  of  labor  required 
to  handle  locomotives  at  terminals,  as  well  as  a 
material  reduction  in  the  cost  of  the  labor  remain- 
ing to  be  done  in  the  houses  retained.  Another 
advantage  gained  is  the  greater  mileage  that  can 
be  obtained  from  locomotives  when  the  runs  are 
lengthened. 

If  we  find  the  number  and  equipment  of  the 
shops  to  be  as  already  indicated,  a  change  will  be 
necessary,  if  the  cost  of  repairs  is  to  be  reduced 
to  a  minimum.  You  will  remember  that  we  as- 
sumed the  repairs  would  cost  four  cents  per  mile. 
That  amounts  to  $1,440  per  locomotive  per  an- 
num, or  $1,440,000  per  1,000  locomotives.  If 
we  can  reduce  the  figure  by  one-half  cent  per 
mile,  the  cost  per  annum  will  be  reduced  by 
$180,000.  To  effect  such  a  reduction  we  must 
have  improved  machinery  and  up-to-date  meth- 
ods. But  much  of  this  machinery,  if  installed  in 
a  small  shop,  would  be  idle  most  of  the  time — so 


247 


22 

much  of  the  time  that  it  might  not  pay  to  pur- 
chase it  unless  more  work  can  be  found  for  it. 
To  illustrate  :  Suppose  a  railroad  finds  it  has  no 
boiler  shop  that  is  properly  equipped  for  econom- 
ical work ;  at  one  of  its  main  shops  it  takes  out 
antiquated  machinery,  such  as  old  punches  and 
shears,  single-spindle  post-drills,  bending  rolls, 
operated  by  hand,  etc.,  and  in  the  place  of  this 
machinery  is  installed  a  powerful  punch  with 
throat  deep  enough  to  permit  reaching  the  center 
of  the  widest  sheet  to  be  operated  upon,  a  mod- 
ern shear,  an  hydraulic  riveting  machine  with  at 
least  a  twelve-foot  gap,  multiple-spindle  drills, 
power  bending  rolls,  an  hydraulic  flanging  ma- 
chine, and  other  modern  machinery,  including 
traveling  cranes.  All  hand  work  is  now  reduced 
to  a  minimum,  and  the  shop  is  prepared  to  do  the 
best  of  boiler  work  with  great  economy  over  the 
old  methods.  When  this  is  accomplished  it  will 
be  found  that  the  shop  is  capable  of  doing  a  much 
larger  amount  of  work  than  formerly ;  in  fact  it 
can  probably  do  the  heavy  boiler  work  for  800 
locomotives,  even  if  in  its  equipment  there  was 

248 


23 

installed  only  one  of  each  of  the  more  important 
tools.  It  will  not  pay  to  improve  every  boiler 
shop  on  the  road  in  this  manner,  nor  will  it  be 
necessary.  By  concentrating  the  heavy  boiler 
work  at  a  few  places  the  maximum  of  economy 
can  be  obtained  and  with  the  minimum  capital  in- 
vested in  tools.  And  so  we  might  go  through  the 
blacksmith  shop,  machine  shop  and  other  shops 
and  find  many  similar  cases  where  the  introduction 
of  improved  machinery  and  methods  must  go  hand- 
in-hand  with  a  concentration  of  the  class  or  classes 
of  work  affected  thereby. 

Now  nothing  is  more  certain  than  the  need  of 
modern  methods  and  first-class  machinery  in  rail- 
road shops;  from  which  it  follows  that  concen- 
tration of  work  must  be  accomplished,  at  least  to 
the  extent  of  keeping  properly  employed  this 
modern  machinery.  This  leads  us  to  turn  our 
attention  to  the  small  shops  on  the  various  divis- 
ions, with  a  view  of  deciding  how  much  of  the 
work  performed  in  them  can  be  profitably  trans- 
ferred to  the  larger  and  better  equipped  shops. 


249 


24 

We  may  find  that  with  proper  round-house  facili- 
ties for  making  the  running  repairs,  some  of  them 
can  be  closed  entirely.  In  such  cases  we  gain 
not  only  the  benefit  of  a  lower  cost  on  the  work 
thus  transferred  to  a  better  equipped  shop,  but 
we  save  in  such  items  as  light,  heat,  power,  su- 
perintendence, etc.  As  superintendence  itself  is 
a  large  item — amounting  to  about  ten  per  cent,  of 
the  total  expenses  of  the  department — the  saving 
in  this  direction  is  not  inconsiderable.  There  will 
still  remain,  however,  numerous  shops  that  must 
be  maintained,  and  in  which  certain  classes  of 
repairs  can  be  as  cheaply  done  as  in  the  main 
shops.  It  will  be  found  economical,  nevertheless, 
to  take  from  them  the  heaviest  classes  of  repair 
work,  and  also  to  relieve  them  of  the  manufactur- 
ing of  much  of  the  standard  materials. 

Perhaps  I  have  used  the  word  manufacturing 
unadvisedly,  for  if  each  outside  shop  is  allowed 
to  furnish  all  the  new  parts  necessary  in  the  course 
of  its  repair  work  there  will  be  little  manufactur- 
ing done.  When  a  locomotive  is  overhauled, 
such  parts  as  driving  boxes,  shoes  and  wedges, 


25 

rods,  crank  pins,  cross-heads,  etc.,  need  more  or 
less  work  done  upon  them  to  take  up  the  wear, 
and  evidently  such  work  never  can  be  put  upon 
a  manufacturing  basis.  Here  and  there  a  new 
crosshead,  crank  pin,  driving  box  or  other  part  is 
needed,  but  in  many  shops  the  number  required 
at  any  one  time  is  too  small  to  introduce  the  labor- 
saving  methods  that  would  be  possible  if  they 
were  made  in  quantity.  Evidently,  however,  if 
the  main  shop  undertook  to  supply  these  parts  in 
a  finished  condition  to  all  the  outlying  shops,  they 
could  be  made  in  such  quantities  as  to  greatly  re- 
duce their  cost.  This,  I  believe,  is  what  should 
be  done,  and  to  a  larger  extent  than  is  usually 
practiced.  The  main  shops  should  undertake  to 
make  on  a  large  scale  as  many  of  the  new  parts 
required  in  repairs  over  the  system  as  the  con- 
ditions will  admit  of,  and  this  work  should  be 
done  upon  a  manufacturing  basis  so  far  as  prac- 
ticable. By  this  means  the  cost  is  reduced  and 
there  is  every  incentive  to  keep  on  cheapening 
the  work  and  raising  the  quality  of  it  by  special 


251 


26 

and  ingenious  methods,  by  templates,  jigs,  special 
cutters  and  other  tools. 

To  carry  out  this  policy,  two  things  are  neces- 
sary :  A  standardizing  of  the  parts  of  the  various 
locomotives  owned  by  the  company,  and  liberal 
appropriations  for  the  machinery  needed  in  the 
work.  The  appropriations  are  matters  which 
must  be  settled  by  the  management.  Without 
them  these  economies  can  not  be  effected  and  it  is 
a  matter  of  regret  at  times  that  there  is  not  more 
money  forthcoming  for  these  purposes.  But  we 
will  assume  that  this  matter  has  been  satisfac- 
torily disposed  of  and  consider  for  a  moment  the 
work  of  standardizing. 

When  you  stop  to  think  of  the  rapid  changes 
that  have  taken  place  in  locomotive  design  in  the 
last  ten  years,  by  which  steam  pressures  have 
been  increased  about  fifty  pounds  and  the  size 
and  weight  of  locomotives  greatly  augmented, 
you  will  readily  understand  that  railroad  com- 
panies which  have  purchased  many  engines  in 
that  time  have  a  variety  of  designs  in  service. 
The  consolidation  of  companies  has  in  some  cases 


252 


27 

added  to  the  variety  of  equipment  under  the  care 
of  the  motive-power  department.  To  manufac- 
ture parts  for  these  engines  it  is  necessary  to  use 
the  same  patterns  and  sizes  on  as  many  engines 
as  possible.  By  so  doing  the  quantity  of  stock 
required  to  be  kept  on  hand  will  be  less — a  most 
important  consideration.  To  show  you  the  need 
that  may  exist  for  standardizing  and  what  can  be 
accomplished  I  will  quote  you  a  few  of  the  results 
obtained  along  this  line  in  the  motive-power  de- 
partment with  which  I  am  connected. 

We  have  reduced  to  one  or  two  sizes  most  of 
our  cocks  and  valves,  oil  cups,  injector  checks, 
glands  and  all  other  brass  work  and  small  parts. 
At  one  time  we  had  113  different  kinds  of  cabs  on 
the  1,010  engines  owned  by  the  company;  now 
their  number  has  been  reduced  to  nine.  Pilots  at 
one  time  were  built  of  fifteen  different  heights; 
now  there  are  but  three.  The  number  of  kinds  and 
sizes  of  smoke  stacks  have  been  reduced  from 
legion  to  four.  Two  patterns  of  exhaust  pipes 
have  replaced  forty-five  old  ones.  Ten  cross- 
head  patterns  take  the  place  of  twenty  formerly 


253 


28 

used.  Three  standard  eccentrics  take  the  place 
of  eleven  needed  heretofore.  Sixteen  cylinder 
head  casings  and  seven  cylinder  head  patterns 
have  been  discarded ;  also,  six  steam  chests  and 
casings.  Six  standard  wheel  centers  now  take 
the  place  of  twenty-two  formerly  used.  And  so 
1  might  go  through  the  entire  list,  but  those  al- 
ready mentioned  are  enough  to  indicate  the  great 
saving  that  can  be  accomplished  both  in  the  stocks 
carried  and  the  cost  of  production.  Not  a  week 
passes  without  seeing  more  of  this  work  accom- 
plished ;  and  yet,  in  it  all,  one  must  be  constantly 
on  the  alert  for  improvements  and  must  not  hold 
these  standards  too  sacred.  They  have  to  be 
•discarded  occasionally  if  we  are  to  profit  by  our 
own  experience  and  that  of  others.  But  with 
both  large  and  small  parts  properly  standardized 
and  special  tools  and  methods  introduced,  prac- 
tically all  the  small  standard  parts  can  be  manu- 
factured at  one  shop  and  many  of  the  large  parts 
can  be  produced  in  the  same  way. 

Some  roads  do  nothing  but  repair  work  in  their 
shops,  but  a  few  undertake  to  build  quite  a  number 


254 


29 

of  their  own  engines.  Rebuilding  of  locomo- 
tives is  carried  on  to  some  extent  in  nearly  every 
railroad  shop.  Where  to  draw  the  line  in  rebuild- 
ing it  is  difficult  to  determine.  By  this  term  I  do 
riot  mean  the  making  of  extensive  repairs  and  yet 
retaining  the  original  design.  Most  roads  find 
themselves  possessed  of  engines  of  moderate  size, 
provided  with  boilers  much  too  small  for  the  cyl- 
inders, and  carrying  a  low  steam  pressure.  If 
these  engines  were  rebuilt  and  given  new  boilers 
the  tractive  weight  and  power  would  be  largely 
increased  by  the  larger  boiler  and  higher  steam 
pressure.  Whether  it  is  advisable  to  do  this  de- 
pends upon  the  service  the  rebuilt  engines  are 
intended  for.  Perhaps  I  can  best  illustrate  the 
manner  in  which  this  matter  should  be  viewed  by 
taking  actual  cases.  A  road  needs  for  its  passen-' 
ger  service  an  engine,  the  equivalent  in  power  of 
a  seventeen  inch  engine  carrying  180  pounds  of 
steam.  Its  modern  power  is  all  large  and  the 
seventeen  and  eighteen  inch  engines  owned  by  it 
will  not  do  the  work  because  the  boilers  are  too 
small  and  they  only  carry  140  to  150  pounds  steam 


255 


,30 

pressure.  To  rebuild  one  of  these  seventeen  inch 
engines,  giving  it  a  new  boiler,  will  cost,  say  four 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  I  believe  it  will 
pay  to  do  it,  if  the  machinery  is  heavy  enough 
for  the  higher  pressure,  as  a  new  engine  for  the 
service  required  will  cost  about  eight  thousand 
•dollars.  We  save  not  only  the  difference  in 
the  cost,  but  we  have  one  less  small  engine  on 
our  hands.  But  suppose  we  expect  to  use  these 
rebuilt  engines  in  freight  service  and  have  no 
particular  place  for  them,  but  only  contemplate 
increasing  their  capacity  by  the  rebuilding,  we 
would  gain  about  twenty  per  cent,  in  power  by 
the  change.  If  the  tractive  power  of  the  old 
engine  be  expressed  by  the  number  100,  then 
three  engines  rebuilt  would  have  a  total  tractive 
power  of  360.  The  cost  of  rebuilding  the  three 
engines  would  be  thirteen  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars.  Now  if  we  leave  the  old  engines  as  they 
are  and  spend  eleven  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars  of  this  money  in  purchasing  a  heavy 
modern  freight  engine  we  will  be  able  to  get  one 
with  a  tractive  power  represented  by  175,  and 

256 


we  would  then  have  four  engines,  three  old  and 
one  new,  with  a  combined  tractive  power  repre- 
sented by  475,  or  an  average  of  118.75  Per 
engine.  If  we  should  scrap  one  of  the  seventeen 
inch  engines  we  would  have  three  engines  with  a 
tractive  power  of  375,  or  an  average  of  125. 
Thus  we  find  that  for  two  thousand  dollars  less 
money  we  can,  by  purchasing  new  power  and 
keeping  all  our  old  power,  get  almost  exactly  the 
same  average  tractive  power  as  by  rebuilding,  and 
that  if  we  would  scrap  one  old  engine  for  each 
new  one  purchased  the  average  tractive  power  of 
our  engines  would  be  considerably  increased  over 
what  we  could  obtain  by  rebuilding.  Evidently 
the  figures  are  against  rebuilding  except  where 
the  rebuilt  engines  will  fit  into  some  particular 
place,  generally  in  passenger  service. 

I  have  shown  you  enough  of  the  work  of  the 
motive-power  department  to  make  it  evident  that 
to  successfully  carry  on  a  business  as  large  as  we 
have  been  considering,  a  complete  and  thorough 
organization  is  necessary.  The  peculiar  charac- 
ter of  the  work,  involving  shop  management 

257 


32 

on  the  one  hand  and  the  control  of  a  large  body 
of  men  and  the  movement  of  many  locomotives 
on  the  other,  maintenance  of  the  locomotives 
already  owned  and  the  designing  of  new  ones, 
and  the  necessity  of  carrying  on  some  of  this 
work  at  points  widely  separated  from  each  other, 
are  all  arguments  against  the  possibility  of  any 
one  man  giving  the  details  of  this  work  his  per- 
sonal supervision.  And  to  trust  these  details  to 
others,  a  unity  of  purpose  and  practice  is  required. 
The  business  at  each  point  must  be  conducted  as 
a  part  of  the  great  whole  and  not  on  independent 
lines.  Improved  methods  or  designs  worked  out 
at  one  point  should  become  the  practice  at  all 
others,  if  capable  of  more  than  a  local  application  ;. 
in  this  manner  only  can  advantage  be  taken  of 
the  ability  and  ingenuity  of  those  in  charge  at 
each  and  every  point.  Without  this  unity,  stand- 
ards would  soon  be  disregarded  and  would  be  of 
little  value  because  they  would  not  be  based  upon 
the  experience  of  the  whole  department.  A  suc- 
cessful organization  must  not  only  assign  to  each 
person  in  it  certain  responsibilities  and  duties,  but 

258 


33 

it  must  be  of  such  a  character  as  to  utilize  the 
best  work  of  each  one.  By  giving  to  all  as  much 
of  a  voice  in  shaping  the  policies  of  the  depart- 
ment as  is  consistent  with  the  responsibility 
which  must  rest  with  the  head  of  the  department, 
I  believe  the  best  results  will  be  obtained.  If  the 
men  in  charge  at  the  various  offices  of  a  large 
department  are  asked  to  carry  out  instructions 
issued  from  headquarters  without  being  consulted 
as  to  the  effect  of  such  instructions  upon  their 
work,  the  faithfulness  with  which  they  may  carry 
out  orders  will  never  compensate  for  the  loss  to 
the  department  of  the  judgment  and  experience 
of  these  men,  and  the  free  expression  of  opinion 
which  should  prevail.  Without  attempting  to 
lead  you  into  the  details  of  organization,  I  can 
assure  you  that,  after  the  selection  of  capable 
men  to  fill  the  various  positions  of  responsibility, 
an  organization  that  will  call  out  the  hearty  co- 
operation of  each  and  every  one  of  them  is  essen- 
tial to  the  success  of  the  work. 

Co-operation,  however,  should  not  be  confined 
to  those  in  official  positions.      The  further  this 


259 


34 

spirit  of  co-operation  can  extend  into  the  rank  and 
file  of  the  department,  the  better  it  is  for  the 
company,  its  officers  and  the  men  themselves. 
This  desirable  result  can  be  brought  about  by 
honest,  fair  dealing  toward  the  men  by  those  in 
authority  over  them.  There  is  a  wonderful 
amount  of  loyalty  on  the  part  of  the  men  towards 
a  great  railway  corporation  that  always  endeavors 
to  treat  them  justly,  and  fortunate  is  the  company 
that  wins  that  loyalty.  Its  value  can  not  be 
computed.  Many  corporations,  and  many  offi- 
cials possess  it,  and  they  have  won  it  without 
yielding  any  of  their  own  rights  to  the  men,  but 
simply  by  according  them  justice  at  all  times.  We 
need  to  bear  in  mind  constantly  that  our  employes 
are  men  and  that  a  large  percentage  of  them  are 
manly  men  and  should  be  treated  as  such.  With 
this  thought  directing  our  dealings  with  them  we 
cherish  those  much-to-be-desired  relations  between 
employer  and  employe,  that  conserve  the  interests 
of  both. 

Statistics  are  usually  so  uninteresting  that  I 
have  made  but  little  use  of  them  this  evening. 

260 


35 

Properly  kept  they  are,  however,  of  great  value. 
By  their  use  the  business  of  the  department  can 
be  grasped  in  its  entirety.  But  in  order  that  they 
should  not  mislead,  they  must  not  only  be  accu- 
rate, but  must  be  on  the  right  basis.  In  the  past 
nearly  all  of  the  statistical  work  of  the  depart- 
ment has  been  computed  on  the  engine-mile  basis. 
In  many  respects  this  is  most  undesirable,  as  the 
engine-mile  is  far  from  being  a  constant  unit. 
The  ton-mile  is  a  much  better  basis  for  much  of 
our  statistical  work.  Already  we  have  placed  all 
our  coal  records  on  this  basis,  and  it  is  probably 
only  a  question  of  time  when  repairs  and  supplies 
will  be  computed  in  like  manner.  The  impor- 
tance of  this  matter  is  nicely  illustrated  in  our 
coal  records.  On  the  engine-mile  basis  the  engi- 
neer who  hauled  the  lightest  train  made  the  finest 
showing,  other  things  being  equal.  On  the  ton- 
mile  basis  the  man  who  hauls  the  heaviest  train 
may  expect  to  have  the  best  record.  Thus  we 
furnish  an  incentive  to  actual  economy  of  opera- 
tion, instead  of  putting  a  premium  on  extrava- 
gance. Furthermore,  you  can  readily  see  that  if 

261 


we  had  not  considered  the  ton-miles  we  would  not 
have  seen  any  economy  in  fuel  in  our  75o-ton 
train,  as  compared  with  a  6oo-ton  train,  in  our 
example  of  engine-rating.  The  value  of  the 
ton-mile  statistics  are  also  illustrated  by  the 
records  heavy  modern  power  is  making  on  many 
roads.  When  these  engines  are  first  put  in  serv- 
ice the  men  find  they  burn  a  large  amount  of  coal 
per  mile  run,  and  use  more  oil  than  the  smaller 
engines.  Computing  their  fuel  supplies  and  re- 
pairs on  the  ton-mile  basis,  however,  the  perform- 
ance is  seen  to  be  a  wonderful  improvement  over 
the  smaller  engines,  and  fully  justifies  their  use 
on  divisions  whose  business  is  heavy  enough  to 
properly  utilize  them.  It  will  be  clear  upon  re- 
flection that  the  statistics  on  the  ton-mile  basis 
would  determine  the  true  cost  for  a  unit  of  work  ; 
and  furthermore,  as  this  unit  is  also  a  fairly  accu- 
rate measure  of  the  value  of  the  service  rendered 
the  company,  we  are  able  at  all  times  to  deter- 
mine with  a  fair  degree  of  accuracy  the  cost  of 
the  locomotive  performance  per  unit  of  revenue- 
producing  service. 

262 


37 

In  my  address  to  you  this  evening  I  have  en- 
deavored to  keep  within  the  limits  of  the  subject 
assigned  to  me,  and  have  avoided  as  much  as 
possible  the  discussion  of  technical  matters.  The 
.business  problems  of  the  motive  power  depart- 
ment are  so  numerous,  however,  that  it  would 
have  been  impossible  in  the  time  at  my  disposal 
to  have  touched  even  lightly  upon  them  all.  I 
have  preferred,  therefore,  to  take  up  only  a  few 
that  confront  us,  with  the  hope  that  they  would 
demonstrate  how  essential  is  the  proper  solution  of 
such  problems  to  the  success  of  the  work  of  the  de- 
partment. These  problems  are  not  new,  and  in  the 
near  future  some  of  them  may  cease  to  exist,  their 
place  being  taken  by  others,  brought  about  by  new 
conditions  and  the  rapid  progress  being  made  in 
economic  railroad  operation.  The  tendency  of  pas- 
senger and  freight  rates  is  steadily  downward,  and 
that  the  railroads  may  live  on  the  reduced  rates 
the  cost  of  operation  must  decrease  likewise.  The 
motive-power  department  must  contribute  its  share 
to  the  reduction  of  expenses,  and  must  do  it  by 
giving  careful  attention  to  its  business  problems. 

263 


IX. 


EXPERIENCES  IN  THE  MOTIVE- 
POWER  DEPARTMENTS 
OF  RAILWAYS. 


GODFREY  W.  RHODES. 


[  Not  many  superintendents  of  motive-power  have  en- 
joyed a  wider  experience  than  has  Mr.  Rhodes,  and  few 
have  observed  more  carefully.  His  lecture,  while  dealing 
with  incidents,  was  full  of  valuable  suggestion. 

He  discussed  the  fundamental  principles  which  apply  in 
the  management  of  men,  and  urged  the  value  of  pains- 
taking and  considerate  attention  on  the  part  of  heads  of 
departments,  sketching  briefly  some  of  his  personal  ex- 
periences and  leading  his  audience  to  a  broad  view  of  the 
responsibilities  resting  upon  those  who  are  called  to  direct 
the  work  of  others.  The  dependence  of  practice  upon  the 
application  of  correct  principles  was  emphasized  and  the 
necessity  for  conducting  experimental  investigations  under 
conditions  of  actual  service  was  presented  in  a  most  force- 
ful and  attractive  manner. 

The  value  of  experimental  research  was  illustrated  by  a 
brief  account  of  the  Burlington  Brake  Tests,  but  the  mod- 
esty with  which  the  speaker  referred  to  the  difficulties 
encountered,  and  to  the  far-reaching  effect  of  the  results 
obtained,  aroused  but  slight  suspicion  in  the  minds  of  the 
student  audience  that  he  was  the  masterful  leader  in  that 
great  work. 

In  deference  to  the  urgent  desire  of  the  author,  this 
lecture  will  not  appear  in  published  form. — ED.] 

265 


X. 

RAILWAY  SIGNALING. 

FREDERIC  A.  DELANO. 


THIS  subject,  as  you  can  readily  understand, 
is  a  pretty  broad  one,  but  in  its  use  in 
connection  with  railway  operation,  it  is 
restricted  to  a  comparatively   narrow  field.      In 
railway  operation,  signals  may  be  classified  as 
follows : 

1.  Fixed  signals  designed  to  protect  railway  crossings, 

turn-outs,  cross-overs,  switches  and  the  like,  such 
as  semaphores  and  switch  targets. 

2.  Fixed  signals  to  space  trains,  called  block  signals. 

3.  Fixed  signals  designed  to  stop  trains  for  train  orders. 

4.  Audible  signals,  such,  for  example,  as  whistle  signals, 

torpedoes,  etc. 

5.  Hand  and  lantern  signals  used  by  train  and  yard  men 

in  handling  trains,  or  in  switching  cars. 

6.  Bell  or  whistle  cord  signals  used  by  train  men  in  pas- 

senger train  service  only. 

267 


Our  time  this  afternoon  will  be  confined  entirely 
to  the  consideration  of  fixed  signals,  and  by  the 
term  fixed  signals  we  must  not  get  confused  with 
stationary  signs  and  posts.  It  has  not  been  un- 
common for  writers  on  this  subject  to  call  mile 
posts,  whistling  posts,  stationary  road  crossing 
signs,  and  slow  boards,  fixed  signals.  In  point  of 
fact,  these  are  stationary  signs,  and  can  not  be 
considered  signals,  all  definitions  in  the  dictionary 
to  the  contrary,  notwithstanding. 

To  my  mind  a  signal  must,  in  the  nature  of 
things,  be  capable  of  two  or  more  interpretations, 
in  the  most  simple  form  a  positive  and  negative  one, 
and  under  this  conception  of  a  signal  all  stationary 
signs,  which  can  only  be  susceptible  of  one  inter- 
pretation, would  be  excluded  from  the  term  sig- 
nal. On  the  other  hand  a  fixed  signal  is  so 
named  to  distinguish  it  from  a  movable  signal, 
such  as  hand  or  lantern  signals,  or  from  audible 
signals,  such  as  whistle  or  bell  signals.  By  a  fixed 
signal  we  mean  that  there  is  a  stationary  staff  or 
mast  at  which  the  various  indications  are  dis- 
played, be  these  two  or  more. 

268 


3 

When  fixed  signals  were  first  employed  on  rail- 
ways, the  important  thought  was  to  make  the 
cautionary  or  danger  indications  prominent.  The 
reverse  or  opposite  indication  of  the  signal  was 
considered  unimportant;  thus,  the  earliest  form 
of  signal  to  indicate  the  position  of  switches  was 
the  old  target,  a  simple  revolving  disk,  which 
showed  the  entire  face  of  the  disk  when  the 
switch  was  thrown  for  the  side  track  and  against 
the  through  line,  but  simply  the  edge  of  the  disk 
when  the  switch  was  thrown  in  the  reverse  posi- 
tion or  with  the  through  line  clear.  In  the  same 
way  the  earliest  form  of  semaphore,  when  in  the 
"all-clear"  position,  disappeared  behind  the  post 
on  which  it  was  mounted,  or,  in  some  cases,  into 
a  case  or  box,  thus  completely  hiding  it  from 
view. 

It  has  only  been  in  recent  years,  say  twenty- 
five  years  in  this  country  and  somewhat  longer 
in  England,  that  the  principle  has  become  gener- 
ally established,  that  it  is  quite  as  important  to 
show  a  definite  unmistakable  indication  for  each 
interpretation  of  the  signal.  In  other  words,  it  is 

269 


as  important  for  the  locomotive  engineer  to  know 
that  the  line  is  all-clear,  as  it  is  to  know  that 
the  road  is  blocked,  and  the  rule  has  been  generally 
adopted  that  the  absence  of  a  clear  signal  must 
be  interpreted  as  a  danger  signal ;  also,  that  the 
normal  position  of  all  signals  is  at  danger,  and  any 
failure  of  parts  allows  the  signal  to  go  to  danger. 
The  fixed  signal  may  be  classified  under  two 
general  types :  First,  the  semaphore  signal ;  and 
second,  the  disk  signal.  The  semaphore  signal 
seems  first  to  have  been  described  by  the  Greek 
author  Polybius,  but  came  into  use  in  modern 
times  toward  the  end  of  the  last  century,  when 
it  was  proved  to  be  the  signal  best  suited  to  be 
seen  at  long  distances.  The  signal  was  simply  a 
hinged  or  pivoted  board  projecting  from  an  up- 
right mast.  It  was  found  by  experiment  that  a 
signal  made  in  this  way  could  be  seen  against  the 
sky  for  very  long  distances,  and  that  various  in- 
dications could  be  made  by  changing  the  position 
or  angle  of  the  board  relative  to  the  mast.  It  was 
first  introduced  in  France  about  the  time  of  the 


270 


5 

French  Revolution  for  conveying  messages  be- 
tween distant  signal  towers,  and  the  name  of  the 
engineer  who  first  introduced  the  system  was 
Claude  Chappe.  He  was  made  Engineer  of 
Telegraphic  Lines  in  France.  Subsequently  the 
semaphore  signal  came  into  use  in  marine  ser- 
vice, and  later,  on  railways. 

Under  the  general  type  of  disk  signals  there 
may  be  included  all  forms  of  revolving  signals 
and  swiveling  or  otherwise  disappearing  shutters, 
within  a  fixed  frame.  Both  these  types  of  signals, 
i.  £.,  the  semaphore  and  the  disk  signal,  are  ef- 
fective only  in  daylight,  and  must  be  supple- 
mented by  lamps  and  colored  lenses  at  night. 
Thus  while  by  daylight  we  differentiate  fixed  sig- 
nals into  two  main  divisions,  we  must  make  our 
night  signals  all  of  one  general  type ;  for  while 
ingenious  devices  have  been  suggested  and  suc- 
cessfully operated  to  make  an  illuminated  sema- 
phore blade,  the  best  practice  to-day  returns  to 
the  lamp  and  colored  lenses. 

The  technique  of  signaling,  and  the  various 
appliances  which  go  with  it,  is  too  elaborate  and 


271 


complex  to  consider  fully  in  this  lecture.  The 
system,  as  we  find  it  to-day,  is  an  evolution,  and 
every  inch  of  the  way  of  progress  has  been  fought 
over ;  every  part  has  been  added  or  altered  to  fit 
a  want,  either  actual  or  supposed.  Ingenuity  has 
constantly  been  creating  new  devices,  many  of 
which  have  later  been  discarded.  Not  a  few  of 
the  difficulties  in  relation  to  the  use  of  signals  are 
those  incident  to  the  severe  climatic  conditions 
prevalent  in  England  and  in  this  country.  To 
understand  the  subject  we  must  consider  it  in 
approximately  the  order  of  its  development. 

Semaphore  signals  came  into  general  use  first 
in  Great  Britain,  and,  in  fact,  on  account  of  the 
density  of  traffic  and  governmental  requirements, 
reached  quite  a  high  state  of  development  before 
the  art  of  signaling  was  much  considered  in  this 
country.  In  England,  as  grade  railway  crossings 
were  rare  and  stations  with  sidings  and  turn-outs 
numerous,  the  first  necessity  of  signals  was  to 
protect  trains  in  the  use  of  these  sidings  and  turn- 
outs, and  indicate  to  the  locomotive  drivers  the 
position  of  the  switches. 

272 


As  I  have  said  before,  the  first  form  of  signal 
or  indication  at  a  switch  was  the  target  or  revolv- 
ing switch  stand,  used  in  an  improved  form  to 
this  day ;  but  as  speed  increased  it  soon  became 
evident  that  locomotive  drivers  must  be  fore- 
warned of  the  position  of  the  switches  by  a  signal 
that  could  be  seen  at  considerable  distances.  This 
led  to  the  introduction  of  the  semaphore  signal 
near  the  switch,  and  when  the  alignment  of  the 
track  precluded  the  possibility  of  seeing  these 
signals  at  considerable  distances,  an  additional 
signal  repeating  the  position  of  the  signal  near  the 
switch  was  put  in  advance  further  up  the  line.* 

*At  first  these  semaphore  signals  near  the  switch  or  the  repeating 
signals  in  advance  were  thrown  independently  of  the  switch,  and  the  em- 
ployes were  trusted  to  follow  prescribed  rules  as  to  throwing  these  signals 
first,  and  before  throwing  the  switch,  but  it  was  soon  found  that  this  was 
putting  too  much  dependence  on  humanity,  and  a  simple  mechanism  was 
devised  by  which  the  signal  was  locked  or  slotted  with  the  switch  in  such 
a  way  that  before  the  switch  could  be  moved  the  signal  must  first  be  placed 
at  danger,  its  normal  position,  and  after  the  switch  was  thrown  the  proper 
signal  again  cleared.  Thus  we  see  that  the  interlocking  system  began  in 
England  with  the  locking  of  a  single  switch  with  the  signal  which  gov- 
erned it.  This  developed  into  the  locking  of  several  switches  with  a  single 
semaphore,  and  finally  of  making  a  certain  succession  of  movements  on 
any  desired  route  or  line  of  movement,  dependent  upon  certain  other  suc- 
cessive movements  for  some  other  route,  with  a  view  of  making  it  impos- 
sible for  an  operator  to  give  clear  signals  for  conflicting  routes.  And 
whereas,  the  earliest  interlocking:  machine  was  out  of  doors,  or  as  we  now 
say,  "  in  the  field,"  with  perhaps  two  levers,  one  to  throw  the  signal  and 
the  other  to  throw  the  switch,  the  highly  developed  machine  of  to-day  is  in 
a  central  tower  containing  perhaps  one  hundred  or  more  levers,  some 
operating  signals,  some  operating-  locks,  and  some  operating  switches. 

273 


8 

This,  then,  was  the  first  use  of  what  became 
and  are  still  known  as  "home"  and  "distant" 
signals.  As  important  stations  became  equipped 
with  these  safeguards  the  increase  in  traffic  cre- 
ated the  further  necessity  of  spacing  trains,  which 
was,  of  course,  especially  important  in  England 
on  account  of  fogs,  and  subsequently  these  signals 
at  stations,  when  connected,  station  to  station, 
by  electric  telegraph,  came  to  be  used  to  space 
trains.  This  was  the  embryo  block  system,  be- 
ginning by  spacing  trains  on  a  time  interval,  and 
developed  gradually  into  the  discarding  of  the  time 
interval  block,  and  the  adoption  of  what  is  usually 
spoken  of  as  the  "absolute  block." 

Under  the  theory  of  absolute  block  no  train 
could  start  from  any  station,  until  the  next  train 
ahead  of  it  had  cleared  the  station  next  in  ad- 
vance. This  met  with  objections,  in  that  it  de- 
layed traffic.  Two  courses  remained  open  ;  one 
was  to  allow  more  than  one  train  to  pass  into  the 
block,  or  space,  and  this  was  done  by  using  a  dis- 
tinctive signal  to  indicate  that  there  was  already 
a  train  in  the  block.  The  other  course,  which, 


274 


9 

because  it  meant  considerable  additional  expense, 
did  not  come  in  at  once,  has  since  come  into  more 
and  more  general  use,  displacing  the  first,  namely, 
dividing  the  space  by  putting  in  signals  and  cabins 
at  which  they  could  be  operated,  intermediate  be- 
tween the  former  stations.  This  plan  has  pre- 
served the  good  features  of  the  absolute  block, 
and,  according  as  the  space  or  blocks  have  been 
shortened,  has  increased  the  traffic  capacity  of 
the  line  to  the  theoretical  limit. 

The  block  system,  as  developed  up  to  that  point, 

was  perfect  so  far  as  it  went.  If  the  rules  were 
obeyed,  trains  on  a  double  track  line  were  spaced 
with  absolute  safety,  but  this  "if"  was  found  to 
be  a  very  important  one,  for  it  meant  that  a 
great  deal  of  dependence  was  put  on  the  human 
frailty  of  the  operators  in  the  towers  (variously 
called  cabins  or  boxes,  and  in  this  country,  towers 
or  cabins). 

Ingenuity  again  set  to  work  to  overcome  this 
difficulty,  and  the  development  has  been  along 
the  following  lines :  First,  there  has  been  an 
effort  to  simplify  the  intercommunication  between 


275 


10 

towers,  and,  whether  using  the  electric  telegraph, 
or  a  bell  signal  electrically  transmitted  over  a  wire, 
the  effort  has  been  to  prescribe  a  very  simple  kind 
of  a  signal,  and  to  prescribe  the  method  to  be  fol- 
lowed with  such  precision  that  operators  become 
accustomed  to  a  regular  procedure,  and  follow  it 
like  automatoms.  The  second  notable  improve- 
ment has  been  in  making  one  operator  a  check  on 
another,  and  by  a  combination  of  electrical  and 
mechanical  means,  interlocking  one  operator  with 
another,  so  that  it  is  impossible  for  one  operator 
to  give  a  "clear"  signal  until  the  next  operator 
has  given  his  consent,  and  "  released  "  him.  The 
third,  and  by  far  the  most  advanced  stage  of  the 
development,  has  been  to  make  the  operation  of 
the  signals  entirely  automatic.  Advancement 
along  the  first  and  second  line  has  been  notable 
in  England,  whereas  the  last  development  of  the 
automatic  block  signal  has  been  confined  entirely 
to  this  country. 

To  return  to  the  development  of  signaling  in 
the  United  States,  it  is  important  to  bear  in  mind 
that  owing  to  the  very  different  necessities  in  this 

276 


II 

country,  it  has  been  in  a  way  entirely  different 
from  that  in  England.  What  had  been  done  in 
this  country  prior  to  1874  need  hardly  be  con- 
sidered, except  in  respect  to  the  ' 'train-order" 
signal,  which  need  not  be  especially  described 
here.  Whatever  advance  had  been  made  prior 
to  1874,  was  practically  discarded,  and  superseded 
by  the  English  system  which  began  to  be  intro- 
duced here  at  that  time.  In  this  country,  how- 
ever, the  first  necessity  for  signals  was  to  protect 
the  crossing  of  one  railroad  with  another  at  the 
same  grade,  and  the  first  modern  signal  plant  in- 
troduced, was  the  Saxby  &  Farmer  interlocking 
machine,  put  in  by  the  Pennsylvania  Road  at 
East  Newark  Junction,  in  1874.  This  machine 
is  now  a  permanent  exhibit  in  the  Field  Columbian 
Museum  in  Chicago.  Following  closely  on  this 
was  a  necessity  for  a  block  system  on  lines  of 
heavy  traffic.  It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that 
while  in  England,  signals  at  stations  interlocked 
with  switches  and  cross-overs,  came  first,  and 
that  successive  stations  equipped  with  signals 
became,  subsequently,  a  block  system  with 

277 


12 

intermediate  blocks  added  as  the  necessity  arose  ; 
in  this  country  the  necessities  developed  a  sort  of 
double  system  not  co-ordinate :  First,  signals  to 
protect  occasional  crossings  of  railroads  at  grade, 
and,  second,  a  block  system  independent  of 
switches  and  turn-outs,  to  space  trains  and  pre- 
vent rear-end  collisions.  In  England,  in  the 
nature  of  things,  no  block  system  could  grow  up 
independent  of  the  signals  interlocked  with 
switches,  turn-outs,  and  cross-overs,  but  in 
America  there  has  grown  up  a  block  system  side 
by  side  with  an  interlocking  system,  and  many  of 
our  railroad  men  to-day,  and  among  them,  able 
signal  engineers,  treat  the  two  systems  as  sepa- 
rate and  distinct,  urging  the  use  of  a  different 
form  of  signal  for  the  interlocked  signal,  than  for 
the  signal  which  is  simply  designed  to  space 
trains. 

To  the  man  up  a  tree,  this  distinction  is  objec- 
tionable and  certain  to  lead  to  great  confusion 
sooner  or  later.  To  him  it  seems  that  as  neces- 
sity grows,  all  our  switches  and  cross-overs  on  the 
main  lines,  as  well  as  junctions  and  crossings, 

278 


13 

must  be  protected  by  signals  completely  inter- 
locked with  each  other.  At  the  same  time,  as  the 
block  system  grows,  one  will  soon  overlay  the 
other,  and  become  very  confusing.  To  come 
nearer  to  earth,  the  man  running  the  engine  recog- 
nizes primarily  only  one  of  two  meanings  in  sig- 
nals, whether  they  be  of  one  form  or  another ;  to 
him  they  must  mean  either  that  it  is  safe  for  him 
to  go  ahead,  or  that  he  must  stop.  He  must  know 
this  as  distinctively  as  possible,  and  in  as  few 
words.  A  circumstance  that  has  added  to  the 
confusion  is  that  while  the  semaphore  signal  has 
always  been  retained  as  the  best  signal  for  our 
interlocking  plants,  it  has  been  found  that  some 
form  of  disk  signal,  incased  in  a  weather-proof 
frame,  could  be  more  conveniently  and  economic- 
ally operated  in  an  automatic  block  system.  This 
confusion  bids  fair  to  find  an  early  solution  in  the 
general  selection  of  the  semaphore  as  the  proper 
type  of  signal,  whether  it  be  interlocked  with 
switches  at  stations  and  junctions,  or  whether  it 
be  simply  a  block  signal,  operated  manually  or 
automatically,  for  there  is  no  denying  that  the 


279 


14 

semaphore  is  the  preferable  type  of  signal.  Until 
this  time  shall  have  been  reached,  however,  we 
shall  have  on  some  of  our  railroads  three  styles  of 
fixed  signals,  differing  slightly  by  day,  and  in- 
tended to  convey  slightly  different  shades  of 
meaning  to  the  engineer  running  the  train,  but  at 
night  not  differing  at  all.  These  three  styles  of 
fixed  signals  are :  First,  the  interlocked  signal, 
which  tells  the  engineer  whether  he  must  stop,  or 
whether  he  may  proceed,  and,  if  he  may  proceed, 
by  which  route  he  is  to  be  sent ;  second,  the  block 
signal,  which  tells  the  engineer  he  must  stop  or  go 
ahead,  because  the  road  is  blocked  or  clear  ahead 
of  him ;  and  third,  the  train-order  signal,  which 
tells  the  engineer  to  stop  if  there  is  a  train-order 
for  him,  or  to  go  ahead  if  there  is  none. 

Great  as  has  been  the  development  in  signal- 
ing in  recent  years,  what  is  needed  now  is  a  ra- 
tionalizing of  many  of  the  inconsistencies  which 
now  exist,  and  a  simplifying  of  the  indications  of 
the  signals,  and  of  the  signals  themselves  as 
much  as  possible.  The  importance  of  this  state- 
ment can  best  be  appreciated  by  those  who 

280 


15 

frequently  ride  in  a  locomotive  cab,  not  by  sitting 
at  the  office  desk.  An  engineer  on  an  engine  haul- 
ing a  train  at  the  rate  of  60  miles  an  hour  ad- 
vances at  the  rate  of  88  feet  per  second,  and  a 
signal  must  mean  something  decisive  to  him,  im- 
mediately. One  of  the  greatest  arguments 
against  the  differentiation  in  the  style  of  signals 
made  in  daylight  signals  is  that  no  similar  differ- 
entiation can  be  made  in  the  night  signals,  and  at 
best  there  is  confusion  in  night  signals  arising 
from  the  multiplicity  of  signal  lights  at  switch- 
targets,  on  trains,  in  neighboring  buildings,  and 
elsewhere,  all  of  which  add  very  much  to  the 
possibilities  of  confusion.  The  remedy  for  this  is 
to  diminish  unnecessary  signals  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, and  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  much  more 
can  be  done  in  this  direction  than  has  ever  yet 
been  done. 

DESCRIPTION  OF  SIGNALS. 

The  home  or  stop  signal,  when  made  of  the 
semaphore  type,  consists  of  a  board  with  a  square 
or  straight  end,  painted  red,  with  a  white  stripe 

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on  the  face,  and  white  with  a  black  band  on  the 
back.  (See  illustration.)  It  is  so  mounted  that 
it  always  points  to  the  right  of  the  mast  on  which 
it  is  located,  and  the  mast  is  placed  on  the  right- 
hand  side  of  the  track  it  governs,  to  an  observer, 
facing  in  the  direction  of  the  train  movement. 
When  it  is  not  possible,  as  sometimes  occurs,  to 
place  the  mast  of  the  signal  on  the  right-hand  side 
next  to  the  track  it  governs,  the  mast  is  sometimes 
placed  on  a  bridge  or  on  a  branched  or  bracketed 
post.  By  night  the  home  signal,  under  the  prac- 
tice that  is  practically  universal  in  this  country, 
shows  a  white  light  when  it  is  "  pulled  off"  or  at 
all-clear,  and  a  red  -light  when  it  is  displayed  at 
danger  or  stop.  This  signal  always  means  pri- 
marily the  same  thing,  whether  it  is  used  as  a 
signal  interlocked  with  the  switch  or  whether  it 
is  used  as  a  block  signal  or  train-order  signal ; 
that  is  to  say,  it  always  means  stop  or  go-ahead. 
The  secondary  meaning  in  each  case  may  be 
different,  but  the  primary  meaning  is  certainly 
the  all-important  one.  It  will  readily  be  seen  that 
the  term  home  signal,  although  it  has  come  into 

282 


such  general  use  that  it  can  hardly  be  discarded,  is 
nearly  a  misnomer  when  the  general  use  of  this 
signal  is  considered.  It  was  well  named  home 
signal  when  it  was  the  signal  close  to  the  switch 
point  which  it  was  intended  to  govern,  and  close 
to  the  tower,  cabin  or  station  from  which  it  was 
operated.  It  seems  improperly  named  a  home 
signal  when  it  is  used  as  a  block  signal  or  a 
station  signal  far  beyond  a  station,  or  in  advance, 
to  protect  a  train  which  is  stopping  at  the  station. 


Home  Semaphore  Signal. 
(Horizontal,  meaning  stop.) 


Home  Semaphore  Signal. 
(Pulled  down,  meaning  proceed.) 


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i8 

This  semaphore  or  pivoted  board  displayed  hor- 
izontally means  stop  ;  pulled  to  clear — or,  as  they 
say  in  England,  "pulled  off  "—  not,  as  formerly, 
so  that  it  disappears  behind  the  post,  but  as  is 
now  the  usual  practice,  pulled  so  that  it  drops  to 
an  acute  angle  with  the  post  or  mast,  or,  as  is  the 
practice  of  some  roads,  to  a  vertical  position  par- 
allel to  the  mast,  it  means  proceed,  or  all-clear. 
Some  roads  make  this  same  semaphore  give  an 
intermediate  indication  between  the  stop  position 
and  the  all-clear  position  to  mean  proceed  with 
caution.  At  junctions,  or  where  there  are  one  or 
more  lines  of  track  opening  into  several,  it  has 
become  necessary  to  use  this  same  semaphore 
signal  to  indicate  not  only  to  stop  and  to  go-ahead, 
but,  if  it  is  safe  to  go-ahead,  by  which  route  the 
train  is  to  proceed.  The  first  plan  of  doing  this 
was  to  put  as  many  semaphore  blades  on  the 
mast  as  there  were  routes.  The  top  blade. was 
intended  to  indicate  whether  the  right-hand  route 
was  clear  or  blocked ;  the  second,  whether  the 
next  route  to  the  left  was  clear  or  blocked,  and  so 
on.  This  soon  lead  to  great  confusion,  and  was 

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19 

discarded  in  this  country,  although  it  is  still  in  use 
in  England,  where  I  have  seen  semaphore  posts 
with  as  many  as  six  or  ten  blades  on  a  single  mast. 
In  this  country  a  comparatively  simple  rule  has 
been  adopted  :  That  the  number  of  signals  on 
any  mast  is  limited  to  two,  the  top  blade  to  indi- 
cate whether  the  main  or  superior  route  is  clear 


FIG.   3. 
Two-arm  Home  Semaphore  Signal. 

or  not,  and  the  lower  blade  to  indicate  whether 
the  engineer  must  stop,  or  whether  he  may  pro- 
ceed by  any  other  route.  In  other  words,  this 
plan  contemplates  that  the  lower  blade  governs 

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2O 

the  procedure  of  the  train  on  all  other  than  the 
superior  route,  whether  the  inferior  routes  num- 
ber one  or  a  dozen.  In  some  quarters  the  objec- 
tion has  been  made  that  where  one  line  divides 
into  two  lines  of  practically  equal  importance,  and 
into  less  important  routes  besides,  it  is  impossible 
for  the  engineer  to  judge,  when  he  gets  a  signal 


FIG.  4. 
Two-arm  Distant  Semaphore  Signal. 

to  proceed  by  the  inferior  route,  whether  he  is  to 
be  sent  by  a  high-speed  route  or  into  a  yard 
siding.  To  overcome  this  objection,  two  distant 
signals  are  placed  sufficiently  in  advance  of  the 

286 


21 

home  signals  to  repeat  the  positions  of  the  home 
signals,  and  the  top  distant  signal  operates  with 
the  top  home  signal,  showing  whether  the  supe- 
rior route  is  clear  or  not,  while  the  bottom  distant 
signal  works  with  the  bottom  home  signal,  and  is 
cleared  only  when  the  bottom  signal  is  cleared  for 
the  second  important  or  high-speed  route,  but  can 
not  be  cleared  when  the  bottom  home  signal  is 
cleared  for  any  unimportant  route. 

When  the  home  signal  is  made  of  the  disk  signal 
type,  the  disk  or  swiveling  shutter  shows  trans- 
parent or  white  when  the  signal  is  clear,  and  red 
when  the  signal  is  at  danger  or  stop. 


CLEAR     DANGER.   CAUTtON.    DOUBLE 
POST. 


CLEAR      DANGER.  CAUTION.     DOU3LE 
POST. 


FIG.   5. 
Some  of  the  many  forms  of  Disk  Signals  used  in  Block  Signaling. 


287 


22 

A  distant  signal  when  made  of  the  semaphore 
type,  is  very  similar  to  the  home  signal,  but  with 
a  fork  or  fish-tail  end,  and  painted  green  with  a 
forked  white  stripe  on  the  face,  and  white  with  a 
black  band  on  the  back.  Although  the  usual  prac- 
tice to  paint  the  face  of  the  home  semaphore  signal 
red,  and  the  face  of  the  distant  semaphore  signal 
green,  the  form  of  the  signal  and  not  the  color  is 
of  prime  importance,  and  some  companies  paint 
the  face  of  both  home  and  distant  signal  a  lemon 
yellow  color.  By  night  the  distant  signal,  by 
the  usual  practice  followed  in  this  country,  shows 
a  white  light  when  it  is  pulled  off,  or  clear,  and  a 
green  light  when  it  is  horizontally  displayed  to 
show  that  the  home  signal,  whose  position  it  re- 
peats, is  displayed  at  danger  or  stop. 

Distant  signals  of  the  disk  signal  type  when 
used,  have  a  disk  or  swiveling  shutter,  displaying 
a  green  disk  or  shutter  when  the  home  signal  in 
advance  is  at  stop,  and  the  white  or  transparent 
disk  or  shutter,  when  the  home  signal  in  advance 
is  clear. 


288 


23 

The  distant  signal,  or  a  signal  of  precisely  the 
same  description,  is  not  infrequently  known  by 
railway  men  as  a  "  cautionary  signal."  This 
arises  from  the  use  of  signals  in  a  permissive 
block  system,  that  is,  where  more  than  one  train 
is  allowed  in  a  block,  and  where  the  signal  simply 


FIG.  6.  FIG.  7. 

Distant  Semaphore  Signal.  Distant  Semaphore  Signal. 

(Horizontal,  meaning  stop  at  the  (Pulled  down,  meaning  proceed.) 
Home  Signal.) 

means  to  the  engineer,  "there  is  a  train  in  the 
block ;  you  must  proceed  with  caution,  expecting 
to  meet  it."  In  England,  because  the  permissive 
block  has  practically  gone  out  of  use,  the  distant 

289 


24 

signal  is  always  called  a  distant  signal,  and  never 
a  cautionary  signal.  It  is  painted  the  same  color 
as  the  home  signal,  and  displays  the  same  colored 
light  at  night  as  the  home  signal,  although  the 
signal  has  a  fish-tail  end  and  so  differs  in  respect 
to  form  from  the  home  signal. 

It  does  not  require  much  thought  to  see  that 
these  two  meanings  of  the  distant  signal  are 
wholly  different  and  distinct,  not  to  say  some- 
what inconsistent.  In  its  use  as  a  distant  signal 
it  simply  repeats  the  position  of  the  home  or  the 
stop  signal,  forewarning  the  engineer  of  the  posi- 
tion of  the  stop  signal,  which  he  may  or  may  not 
be  able  to  see,  but  the  cautionary  signal,  as  used 
in  this  country,  means  to  the  engineer  that  he 
must  proceed  with  caution  expecting  to  find  a 
train  in  the  block.  In  the  automatic  block  signal 
system  as  it  has  been  frequently  introduced  in 
this  country,  it  is  common  to  put  a  distant  signal 
on  the  same  mast  as  the  home  signal.  The  dis- 
tant signal  in  this  case  is  a  distant  signal,  and 
not  a  cautionary  signal,  for  it  means  not  that 
there  is  a  train  in  the  block  in  advance,  but  that 


290 


25 

the  next  block  signal  at  the  beginning  of  the 
block  beyond,  is  at  danger  or  stop.  In  other 
words,  it  does  not,  if  displayed  horizontally,  mean 
to  proceed  with  caution  expecting  to  find  a  train 
in  the  block,  but  it  means  that  the  block  signal 
next  in  advance  of  this  one  is  at  danger  or  stop. 
It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that  with  the  further  in- 
troduction of  the  automatic  block  signal,  and  with 
the  discarding  of  the  permissive  manual  block 
system,  except  with  a  written  order  or  printed 
card,  the  cautionary  signal  must  go,  and  the  dis- 
tant signal  alone  remain. 

As  explained  in  the  beginning  of  this  lecture, 
the  reason  the  semaphore  signal  was  first  intro- 
duced is  that  it  could  readily  be  seen  at  great  dis- 
tances. This  is  true  regardless  of  the  color  it  is 
painted,  and,  in  fact,  at  a  distance  the  color  of  a 
signal  of  this  form  is  not  distinguishable.  If  seen 
in  shadow,  it  appears  dark  gray,  or  nearly  black 
against  the  sky,  and  if  seen  in  bright  sunlight  it 
appears  a  lighter  gray.  The  principal  arguments 
for  painting  signals  of  the  semaphore  type  is  so 
that  engine  and  train  men  may  better  recognize 


291 


26 

and  understand  them  at  close  range.  Thus  the 
face  of  the  signal,  or  the  side  from  which  it  is  to 
be  interpreted,  is  always  painted  a  distinctive 
color,  red  for  home  or  stop  signals,  green  for 
distant  signals,  or,  as  I  said,  on  some  roads, 
lemon  color  for  the  face  in  both  cases.  The  back 
of  the  signal,  or  the  side  from  which  it  is  never 
to  be  interpreted,  is  always  painted  white  with  a 
black  band  across  it.  The  semaphore  post  or 
mast  is  usually  painted  white  or  yellow  with 
black  trimmings  at  the  bottom,  and  black  on  all 
iron  work. 

The  importance  of  placing  signals  so  that  they 
can  readily  be  seen  at  considerable  distances  has 
not  been  as  fully  considered  in  this  country  as  in 
England.  Here,  the  usual  rule  is  to  make  sema- 
phore masts  of  a  standard  height,  so  that  the 
signals  shall  be  displayed  at  a  standard  height 
above  the  rails,  usually  about  20  feet  for  a  sin- 
gle signal  or  for  the  lowest  one  of  two, 
and  4  feet  higher  for  the  next  signal  above 
it,  in  case  there  are  two  signals  on  the  mast.  This 
seems  a  convenient  and  good  rule,  but  there  are 


292 


27 

times  when  exceptions  should  be  made  to  it. 
This  is  illustrated  by  the  English  practice  of 
"sighting"  signals.  There,  before  the  signals 
are  set,  the  signal  engineer  is  required  to  de- 
termine the  position  and  height  of  the  signal  with 
a  view  of  making  it  readily  visible  at  consider- 
able distances,  and  obtaining  a  good  background 
for  the  signal.  Sometimes  artificial  backgrounds 
are  built  behind  signals,  and  not  infrequently  sig- 
nals are  placed  on  masts  as  high  as  40  to  50  feet, 
with  a  repeating  arm  close  to  the  ground,  so  as  to 
enable  the  engineer  to  see  the  arm  high  in  the  air, 
or  near  the  ground,  at  all  times. 

Dwarf  signals  are  used  to  a  considerable  extent 
on  slow  speed  tracks  in  freight  yards,  and  for 
"  back  up"  signals  on  main  lines.  As  their  name 
implies,  they  are  simply  miniature  semaphore  sig- 
nals which  can  be  conveniently  located  between 
tracks  without  causing  serious  obstruction. 

The  development  of  the  interlocking  machine  is 
an  interesting  study  in  itself,  and  I  will  only  in- 
dicate the  line  of  progress.  As  explained  already, 


293 


28 

the  embryo  interlocking  machine  was  a  very  sim- 
ple affair.  Each  switch  and  each  signal  was  han- 
dled by  separate  levers  and  a  simple  mechanical 
device  made  to  interlock  them.  It  was  soon  found 
that  there  was  enough  lost  motion  or  spring  in 
the  parts  to  make  it  possible  to  give  a  clear  signal 
when  the  switch  points  with  which  the  signal  was 
to  operate  were  not  in  proper  position  close  to 
the  stock  rail.  This  made  it  necessary  to  use  a 
separate  "lock"  or  "plunger"  to  lock  the  switch 
in  both  positions  for  the  main  or  for  the  side 
track.  This  considerably  increased  the  number 
of  levers  necessary  to  handle  the  ordinary 
switches  about  a  junction  point,  thereby  increas- 
ing the  cost  of  installation  and  making  the  manip- 
ulation both  clumsy  and  slow.  This  led  to  put- 
ting several  switches  or  locks  on  the  same  lever ; 
for  example,  throwing  both  ends  of  a  cross-over 
with  a  single  lever,  and  this  process  of  hanging 
additional  switches  and  locks  on  the  same  lever 
greatly  simplified  the  locking  arrangement  in  the 
machine,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  made  the  work 


294 


of  throwing  the  levers  more  difficult.  Develop- 
ment along  this  line  continued,  however,  and  in 
many  cases  locks  and  detector  bars  were  thrown 
with  the  same  lever  that  handled  switches,  using 
an  ingenious  device,  known  as  a  switch  and  lock 
movement.  Along  the  same  lines  several  signals 
were  frequently  operated  by  a  single  lever  by 
various  ingenious  devices  called  "selectors,"  and 
these  are  still  in  use  to  this  day  in  several  forms, 
although  less  popular  than  at  one  time,  as  they 
are  open  to  certain  serious  objections.  The  pro- 
cess of  combining  various  movements,  and  thus 
centralizing  in  one  machine  the  handling  of  many 
switches,  some  of  them  at  considerable  distances 
from  the  operating  tower,  went  so  far  that  it  was 
found  in  some  cases  that  something  more  than  man 
power  would  be  required  to  throw  the  levers,  and 
hence  at  complicated  junctions  and  at  many  termi- 
nal stations  the  actual  movement  of  the  switches, 
locks  and  signals  is  effected  by  hydraulic  pressure, 
air  pressure  or  electricity;  the  operator  simply 
manipulating  the  valves  controlling  the  power. 
The  interlocking  machine  of  to-day,  whether 

295 


296 


purely  manual,  or  operated  with  the  assistance  of 
power,  is  a  great  improvement  over  the  older 
machines,  and  the  improvement  has  been  en- 
tirely in  the  direction  of  greatly  simplifying  the 
interlocking  in  the  machine  in  the  manner  already 
indicated,  and  by  simplifying  and  strengthening 
the  design  of  various  moving  parts. 

The  development  of  the  automatic  block  signal, 
which,  as  already  indicated,  represents  the  highest 
state  of  the  art  in  block  signaling,  has  been  the 
result  of  an  immense  amount  of  ingenuity.  Vari-. 
ous  plans,  more  or  less  successful,  have  been  de- 
vised by  which  a  signal  at  the  entrance  of  a  block 
is  displayed  at  danger  by  the  entrance  of  a  train 
into  the  block,  and  cleared  again  by  the  departure 
of  the  train  at  the  other  end  of  the  block.  The 
consensus  of  opinion  seems  to  be  that  none  of 
these  devices  are  satisfactory,  except  those  which 
make  use  of  an  electric  current  passing  through 
the  rails  of  the  track  in  what  is  called  the  "track 
circuit,"  the  reason  for  this  being  that  no  treadle 
or  track  instrument  can  properly  provide  for  the 
emergency  of  a  "  break-in-two,"  whereas  with  a 


297 


32 

track  circuit,  a  single  pair  of  wheels  left  in  the 
block  will  hold  the  signal  at  danger  as  effectually 
as  if  the  entire  train  was  there.  The  track  cir- 
cuit has  the  further  advantage  of  showing  a  dan- 
ger signal  if  the  line  is  blocked  by  a  broken  rail, 
.a  wash  out,  or  a  burned  bridge,  which  is  in  itself 
a  very  important  feature. 

Briefly,  the  principle  on  which  a  track  circuit 
works  is  this :  The  rails  at  the  beginning  and  end 
of  the  block  are  insulated  from  the  track  adjoin- 
ing. This  is  effected  by  wood  or  indurated  fibre 
joints ;  then  the  rails  within  the  block  are  bonded 
or  electrically  connected  by  means  of  track  wires, 
because  the  angle  bars  can  not  be  trusted  to  carry 
the  current.  At  the  farther  end  of  each  block  is 
located  a  track  battery,  consisting  of  say  two 
gravity  cells  which  supplies  the  current  for  the 
rails  and  the  track  relay.  Each  pole  of  this 
battery  is  connected  to  one  line  of  rails  and  at 
the  near  end  of  the  block  the  two  lines  of  rails 
are  connected  with  the  poles  of  a  track  relay. 
When  the  track  is  in  its  normal  condition, 
no  rails  broken,  all  switches  set  for  the  main 

298 


33 

route,  and  no  train  within  the  limits  of  the  block, 
the  current  will  flow  from  one  pole  of  the  battery 
through  one  line  of  rails,  thence  through  the 
track  relay  and  the  other  line  of  rails,  back  to  the 
other  pole  of  the  track  battery;  but  if  a  rail  is 
broken,  or  a  switch  misplaced,  or  a  train  or 
any  part  of  a  train  is  within  the  block,  the 
current  from  the  track  battery,  which  is  very 
light,  is  prevented  from  reaching  the  track  relay, 
and  the  track  relay,  which  has  comparatively  high 
internal  resistance,  remains  unexcited.  When  the 
track  relay  is  excited,  a  circuit  is  closed  in  the 
signal  circuit  operated  by  a  battery  located  at  the 
signal,  and  the  operation  of  this  is  so  arranged 
that  so  long  as  the  track  relay  remains  excited 
and  the  signal  circuit  complete,  the  signal  will  be 
held  at  safety  or  all-clear,  but  if  from  any  cause 
the  track  relay  is  unexcited,  the  armature  bar  is 
released,  the  signal  circuit  broken,  and  the  signal 
allowed  to  go  to  danger  or  stop  by  gravity.  This 
is  the  track  circuit  in  its  first  and  simplest  form. 
In  recent  years  it  has  been  modified  so  as  to  make 
the  automatic  signals  remain  nominally  at  danger 


(3) 


34 

and  go  to  the  clear  position  in  advance  of  an 
approaching  train,  if  the  block  into  which  the 
train  is  entering  is  clear  and  the  track  unbroken. 
There  are  several  methods  of  operating  the  sig- 
nals themselves.  Those  most  commonly  in  use 
make  use  of  air  pressure,  or  of  an  electric  current, 
either  operating  on  the  signal  directly,  or  through 
an  electric  motor.  In  the  first  case,  the  signal 
circuit  simply  operates  to  open  and  close  valves 
while  the  air  pressure  does  the  work  of  moving 
the  signal;  in  the  second  case,  the  signal  must  be 
made  very  light  and  almost  perfectly  balanced, 
and  incased  in  a  weather-proof  frame,  thus  pre- 
cluding the  possibility  of  the  use  of  an  ordinary 
exposed  semaphore,  so  that  the  signal  circuit 
may  operate  it ;  but  in  the  third  case,  the  signal 
circuit  simply  opens  or  closes  a  switch  for  a 
dynamo  current  operating  through  a  small  electric 
motor  located  on  the  signal  post,  operating  the  sig- 
nal by  means  of  an  ordinary  rack  and  pinion. 


300 


XI. 

CAR  DESIGNING  AND 
CONSTRUCTION. 


ARTHUR  M.  WAITT. 


SO  far  as  my  information  goes,  in  the  past 
little  or  no  attention  has  been  given  to  the 
elements  or  principles  of  car  design  and 
construction  in  the   instruction   given  to   young 
men  in  our  technical  institutions,  and  it  is  grati- 
fying, and  to  my  mind  a  sign  of  progress,  that 
Purdue    University,    in    outlining    a    course    in 
Railway  Engineering,  has  given  to  this  important 
but   greatly   misappreciated   feature  of    railway 
operation  its  due  consideration. 

Few  of  those  of  us  who  have  had  the  good 
fortune  to  have  the  benefit  of  a  mechanical  train- 
ing in  a  technical  school,  but  have  sought  to 

303 


obtain  as  thorough  a  knowledge  as  possible  of  the 
fundamental  features  of  locomotive  design  and 
operation,  but  until  coming  in  actual  contact  with 
the  railway  service  we  have  been  in  complete 
ignorance  of  the  vast  extent  of  the  problems  of 
car  design,  construction,  maintenance  and  inter- 
change. It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  graduates  in 
Mechanical  Engineering  in  future  years,  who 
may  choose  railroading  for  their  career,  may  be 
more  fully  equipped  for  handling  the  perplexing 
problems  which  confront  the  mechanical  super- 
intendent in  the  car  department  work,  as  well 
as  the  locomotive  department. 

When  the  statistics,  found  in  the  1897  issue  of 
Poor's  Manual,  show  that  in  1896  there  were  on 
American  railroads  36,080  locomotives,  32,627 
passenger  equipment  cars,  and  1,189,927  freight 
equipment  cars,  and  when  it  is  considered  that 
the  locomotives,  as  a  rule,  are  continually  run- 
ning on  the  home  road,  while  the  vast  number 
of  cars  are  largely  moving  on  foreign  roads,  often- 
times never  being  in  the  shops  of  the  home  road 
for  months  and  sometimes  years  at  a  time,  it  will 

304 


3 

be  seen  that  the  problems  which  confront  the 
mechanical  superintendent,  in  connection  with  the 
maintenance  of  his  migratory  car  equipment,  are 
likely  to  be  much  more  complicated  and  arduous 
than  those  arising  in  the  maintenance  of  the  smaller 
number  of  locomotives  which  are  constantly  under 
the  watchful  care  of  the  road  most  interested  in 
them .  From  the  fact  that  the  cars  have  to  be  main- 
tained and  repaired  by  foreign  roads  far  removed 
from  the  lines  of  the  owning  company,  it  has  be- 
come necessary  in  their  design  to  so  construct  them 
that  they  can  readily  be  repaired  at  the  shops  of 
foreign  companies.  In  order  to  bring  about  this 
result  an  organization  was  formed,  some  thirty 
years  ago,  called  the  Master  Car  Builders'  Asso- 
ciation. This  Association  was  composed  of 
representative  men  in  charge  of  the  car  depart- 
ments of  the  leading  roads  in  the  country.  Their 
primary  objects  were  to  agree  upon  methods  and 
bases  of  exchange  of  cars  between  the  different 
roads,  and  in  conjunction  with  that  to  carefully 
consider  and  adopt,  where  possible,  standard 
shapes  and  sizes  to  be  used  by  all  companies 


305 


for  parts  of  the  cars  which  were  most  liable  to 
breakage,  and  would  have  to  be  most  frequently 
renewed  by  foreign  roads.  This  Association  is 
still  in  active  operation,  and  is  one  of  the  most 
important  and  influential  of  the  railroad  associa- 
tions now  in  existence.  At  its  yearly  convention 
the  best  mechanical  minds  in  the  railroad  service 
gather  to  consider  advance  steps  in  connection 
with  the  most  practical  methods  of  car  inter- 
change, car  design  and  the  adoption  of  standards. 
The  proceedings  of  this  Association  furnish  the 
best  condensation  of  the  forward  movement  in 
car  construction  and  design  that  can  be  had,  and 
I  would  recommend  the  perusal  of  its  reports  and 
discussions  to  any  of  you  who  wish  to  become 
conversant  with  up-to-date  practice  in  this  line  of 
work. 

It  will  be  my  endeavor  in  the  time  that  is 
allotted  to  me  to  convey  to  the  young  men  before 
me,  in  a  somewhat  elementary  manner,  some  of 
the  important  features  of  car  design  and  construc- 
tion, with  which  some  of  you  may  be  confronted 
in  the  near  future. 


5 

The  primitive  railway  coach  for  transporting 
passengers  resembled  a  small  log  cabin  on  wheels, 
the  wheels  having  flanges  to  guide  the  car  on  the 
track.  The  primitive  form  of  freight  car  was 
simply  a  platform  carried  by  four  flanged  wheels. 
These  crude  forms  were  soon  superseded  by  sub- 
stituting a  stage  coach  for  the  log  cabin,  and  a 
wagon  for  the  plain  platform.  From  these  simple 
beginnings  there  have  been  gradually  developed 
the  elegant  palaces  on  wheels  in  which  we  ride  at 
ease  in  these  last  days  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
and  the  multitudinous  variety  of  freight  cars, 
suited  in  detail  to  the  numerous  classes  of  freight 
to  be  hauled.  All  of  the  primitive  cars  were  of 
the  four  wheel  variety,  but  now,  except  for  a  few 
special  uses,  none  of  this  type  are  built.  It  is 
needless  on  the  present  occasion  for  me  to  take 
the  time  to  trace  in  its  rapid  advance  the  various 
stages  of  progress  in  car  construction  and  design, 
as  there  are  books  in  print  giving  this  information 
in  detail  open  to  every  one. 

I  desire  now,  in  a  brief  way,  to  place  before 
you  some  of  the  elements  in  the  construction  of 


307 


the  prevailing  types  of  cars  used  in  this  country 
at  the  present  day.  Cars  may  be  divided  into 
two  general  classes,  passenger  equipment  and 
freight  equipment. 

Of  the  former  the  principal  varieties  are  sleep- 
ing, parlor,  dining,  cafe,  coaches,  baggage,  mail 
and  express  cars,  and  combinations  of  the  above. 
The  latter  may  be  divided  into  box  or  house, 
stock,  gondola,  coal  and  flat  cars,  of  each  of  which 
there  is  an  almost  endless  variety,  suiting  the  cars 
to  the  special  class  of  traffic  for  which  they  are 
used. 

CAR  DESIGNING. 

In  designing  railway  cars  the  mechanical  en- 
gineer is  met  with  a  series  of  problems  far 
different  from  those  found  in  the  design  of  any 
stationary  structure.  With  stationary  structures, 
like  buildings  and  bridges,  there  are  well  known 
formulas  on  which  to  base  calculations  as  to  the 
proper  size  of  materials  to  be  used,  but  in  the 
case  of  a  car  moving  in  a  rapid  train,  sometimes 
over  rough  tracks,  around  curves  and  over 


frogs  and  switches,  and  subject  to  the  severe 
shocks  and  jars  incident  to  railway  service,  there 
are  no  rules  or  formulas  which  can  be  used  in 
designing  the  work.  Experience,  observation,  the 
experience  of  others,  and  good  judgment,  are  the 
principal  factors  which  it  is  necessary  to  rely 
upon  in  car  design.  To  one  in  practical  railway 
service,  the  frequent  inspection  of  the  scrap  pile 
will  give  valuable  data  to  assist  in  eliminating 
from  a  car  weak  features  in  its  construction. 
Cars  being  structures  subject  to  such  unusually 
severe  usage,  necessarily  require  frequent  repairs 
and  renewal  of  parts,  hence  in  designing  great 
consideration  must  be  given  to  so  construct  as  to 
provide  for  ease  in  maintenance  and  repairs,  as 
well  as  strength  and  symmetry  in  the  first  con- 
struction. 

As  cars  do  not  remain  always  on  the  home  road, 
but  are  dispatched  to  all  parts  of  the  country,  and 
require  repairs  in  shops  many  miles  from  the 
home  road,  it  is  desirable,  as  far  as  possible,  to 
have  uniformity  in  dimensions  and  shapes,  so  that 
no  unnecessary  expense  or  delays  in  getting 

309 


8 

material  may  occur  when  a  car  has  to  be  repaired 
away  from  home,  hence  the  use  of  the  so-called 
Master  Car  Builders'  standards,  as  far  as  possible, 
should  be  a  fundamental  principle  in  the  car 
builder's  mind. 

DIMENSIONS  AND  CAPACITY. 

With  cars  of  the  present  day,  there  seems  to  be 
no  limit  to  the  variety  of  sizes  and  capacities.  In 
passenger  service  the  sleeping  cars  have  now 
reached  a  length  of  eighty  feet  over  all,  and  between 
ten  and  eleven  feet  wide,  while  passenger  coaches 
and  baggage  and  mail  cars  range  from  forty  to 
sixty  feet  over  all,  according  to  the  necessities  of 
the  roads.  In  freight  equipment  the  cars  vary 
from  about  twenty-eight  up  to  fifty  feet  in  length, 
varying  according  to  the  possibilities  of  gaining 
extra  tonnage  by  the  increase  in  dimensions  of 
cars  a  few  inches  in  length,  width  or  height,  above 
that  of  a  competitor.  Many  efforts  have  been 
made  to  obtain  uniformity  in  the  general  dimen- 
sions of  freight  equipment,  but  little  has  thus  far 
been  accomplished.  It  has  been  agreed  by  the 


310 


American  Railway  Association  that  for  general 
traffic  box  cars  should  be  limited  in  size  to  thirty- 
seven  feet  in  length,  nine  feet  one  inch  in  width 
over  sheathing,  nine  feet  in  height  from  bottom  of 
sheathing  to  top  of  eaves,  and  should  have  a  max- 
imum capacity  of  sixty  thousand  pounds.  For 
special  lines  of  traffic  these  limits  are  often  ex- 
ceeded. 

Railway  cars  may  properly  be  considered  as 
consisting  of  two  principal  parts — a  platform  or 
superstructure  called  the  body,  and  a  set  of  wheels 
with  their  necessary  controlling  frame  work  of 
wood  or  metal,  called  the  trucks. 

In  giving  a  running  description  of  some  of  the 
more  essential  features  of  car  construction,  as 
there  is  a  wide  difference  in  detail  between  pas- 
senger and  freight  equipment,  it  may  be  best  to 
consider  some  of  the  more  important  features  of 
freight  equipment  cars,  this  class  of  cars  being  by 
far  the  most  numerous,  the  most  frequently  de- 
signed by  the  railway  mechanical  superintendent, 
and  having  in  them  the  foundation  principles  from 
which  passenger  equipment  cars  were  evolved. 

311 


IO 


FREIGHT  CAR   BODIES.  .? 

Sills:  The  foundation  or  floor  frame  of  freight 
cars  usually  consists  of  from  six  to  eight  longitudi- 
nal sills.  (See  Fig.  i.)  There  are  two  side  sills  of 
proper  length  made  of  either  yellow  or  Norway 
pine.  These  are  generally  from  eight  to  nine 
inches  deep  by  from  four  to  five  inches  wide,  and 
in  cars  like  flat  cars,  having  no  superstructure  to 
help  carry  the  load,  they  are  made  twelve  and 
even  fourteen  inches  deep.  In  the  center  of  the 
floor  frame  are  two  center  sills,  usually  of  yellow 
or  Norway  pine,  spaced  from  four  to  ten  inches 
apart,  and  made  from  four  to  five  inches  wide  and 
from  eight  to  nine  inches  deep.  Between  these 
and  each  side  sill  there  are  usually  placed  one  or 
two  intermediate  sills  of  the  same  material,  from 
three  and  one-half  to  five  inches  wide  and  from 
eight  to  nine  inches  deep,  spaced  conveniently  to 
suit  the  general  design  of  car.  At  each  end  of 
the  frame  is  an  end  sill,  usually  made  of  white 
oak,  from  six  to  eight  inches  thick  by  from  eight  to 

312 


II 

nine  inches  deep,  extending  clear  across  frame, 
and  into  which  all  the  longitudinal  sills  are  framed, 
generally  with  double  tenons. 

Cross  Tie  Timbers:  Near  center  of  car,  spaced 
from  five  to  nine  feet  apart,  are  generally  located 
two  cross  tie  timbers  of  white  oak,  from  three  and 
one-half  to  four  and  one-half  inches  wide  by  from 
six  to  ten  inches  deep,  and  extending  from  outside 
to  outside  of  side  sills.  (See  Figs,  i  and  2.)  These 
timbers  are  securely  bolted  to  the  under  side  of  the 
sills,  and  are  generally  gained  out  one-half  inch  or 
more  deep  to  receive  the  sills,  thereby  holding  the 
sills  at  their  proper  spacing,  and  serving  also  to 
transmit  equally  to  all  the  sills  the  support  fur- 
nished by  the  truss  rods,  as  will  be  explained  later. 

Body  Bolster:  The  support  given  to  the  car 
body  by  the  trucks  is  transmitted  by  means  of 
body  bolsters,  located  usually  about  five  feet  from 
each  end  of  the  car.  (See  Figs,  i,  2  and  3.)  The 
bolsters  are  usually  iron  trusses  composed  of  a  top 
or  tension  member  from  six  to  ten  inches  wide  by 
from  five-eighths  to  one  inch  thick,  and  an  in- 
verted arch  compression  member  of  the  same 


313 


13 

width  and  from  seven-eighths  to  one  inch  thick. 
The  body  bolsters  generally'have  both  members 
below  the  sills,  but  sometimes  in  more  recent  de- 
sign, the  top  or  tension  member  is  located  on  top 
of  the  sills,  the  truss  enclosing  the  sills,  thereby 
obtaining  a  deeper  and  much  stiffer  truss. 
Where  both  members  are  below  the  sills,  there 
is  an  arch  of  from  five  to  six  inches  between  the 
members.  The  bolsters  extend  from  outside  to  out- 
side of  the  sills,  and  the  sills  are  oftentimes  notched 
or  gained  out  to  receive  the  top  member.  Body 
bolsters  are  securely  bolted  to  all  the  sills.  These 
bolsters  are  sometimes  made  compound  in  form, 
that  is,  instead  of  one  wide  bolster,  two  narrow 
ones  spaced  a  foot  or  more  apart  are  used.  At 
the  present  time  many  patented  styles  of  con- 
struction from  rolled  and  pressed  steel  shapes  are 
being  put  upon  the  market,  all  of  which  have 
more  or  less  claims  for  consideration,  but  which 
the  limits  of  this  talk  will  not  permit  describing. 
Center  Plates:  In  order  to  permit  the  proper 
easy  swiveling  of  the  trucks  when  passing  around 
curves,  and  when  bearing  the  weight  of  the  car 


315 


14 

body,  circular  bearing  center  plates  are  interposed 
between  the  car  body  and  trucks  to  transmit  the 
load.  (See  Figs.  2  and  3. )  These  are  made  of  cast 
or  malleable  iron  or  pressed  steel,  the  truck  center 
plate  being  concave  or  cup  shaped  to  receive  the 
convex  or  projecting  part  of  the  body  plate.  The 
center  plates  are  shaped  so  as  to  keep  the  car  body 
from  getting  off  its  center,  as  well  as  to  provide  for 
the  easy  swiveling  motion.  The  body  center  plates 
are  secured  by  bolts  or  rivets  to  the  under  side  of 
the  body  bolsters. 

Side  Bearings:  In  order  to  keep  the  car  body 
from  oscillating  under  various  conditions  in  serv- 
ice, it  is  necessary  to  provide  additional  points  of 
contact  between  car  body  and  truck,  and  about 
thirty  inches  each  side  of  center  plate,  side  bear- 
ings are  provided.  (See  Fig.  3.)  These  are  usually 
made  of  cast  iron  or  pressed  steel,  the  body  bear- 
ings being  secured  to  the  body  bolster  and  the 
truck  bearings  to  the  truck  bolster ;  usually  they 
are  adjusted  so  as  to  have  from  one-half  to  one 
inch  opening  between  them.  Sometimes  the 
bearings  are  made  with  rollers  in  them  to  assist 


in  relieving  the  friction  while  the  bearings  are  in 
contact  when  the  cars  are  going  around  a  curve. 

Center  Pins:  To  make  the  connection  between 
body  and  truck  more  complete,  and  to  provide 
against  the  body  center  plate  jumping  out  from 
the  truck  plate,  a  center  pin  of  round  iron  about 
one  and  one-half  to  two  inches  in  diameter,  ex- 
tends loosely  from  the  top  to  the  body  bolster 
down  through  the  body  and  truck  center  plates 
and  projects  through  the  truck  bolster.  (See 
Fig.  3.)  These  pins  have  a  proper  head  or  key  at 
the  top  to  prevent  their  dropping  down. 

Body  Truss  Rods:  In  order  to  carry  the  load  in 
flat  cars,  and  also  to  act  as  an  auxiliary  support  to 
take  care  of  unusual  strains  in  other  styles  of  cars, 
from  two  to  four  truss  rods  of  from  one  inch  to  one 
and  one-quarter  inch  round  iron  are  used.  (See 
Fig.  2.)  These  generally  extend  from  outside  to 
outside  of  end  sills,  having  a  suitable  bearing  on 
top  of  body  bolster,  and  passing  under  and  resting 
in  castor  malleable  iron  truss  rod  bearings,  secured 
to  under  side  of  cross  tie  timbers.  Truss  rods 
usually  have  the  ends  upset,  so  that  the  strength 

317 


10 

will  not  be  too  greatly  reduced  by  cutting  the 
thread  for  the  nut  which  secures  each  outer  end, 
and  for  the  turnbuckle  with  which  each  is  pro- 
vided in  the  middle.  These  turnbuckles  are  used 
for  convenience  in  applying  and  removing  truss 
rods,  and  to  provide  an  easy  way*  to  tighten  up 
the  truss  when  the  car  settles,  or  when  it  is  desired 
to  camber  it.  On  flat  cars  which  have  no  super- 
structure, counter-truss  rods  (see  Fig.  2)  have  to 
be  provided  in  order  to  prevent  them  from  buck- 
ling and  breaking  in  two,  when  they  have  no  lading 
and  are  subjected  to  the  crushing  strains  due  to 
being  placed  between  heavy  cars  in  trains.  These 
are  generally  two  in  number  of  one  or  one  and 
one-eighth-inch  iron,  and  extend  from  body  bolster 
to  body  bolster,  passing  over  suitable  bearings  near 
center  of  car,  the  bearings  being  located  as  near  top 
of  sills  as  possible. 

Camber:  In  setting  up  that  portion  of  the  car 
body  so  far  described,  it  is  always  the  practice  to 
slightly  camber  the  frame  upward  by  tightening 
up  on  the  truss  rods,  so  that  when  the  car  is  under 
heavy  load  it  will  not  sag  enough  to  bring  the  body 

318 


17 

straight  or  below  the  straight.  By  thus  cambering 
the  car  from  one  and  one-quarter  to  two  inches,  the 
sills  are  kept,  as  they  should  be,  compression 
members  of  a  truss,  and  therefore  in  a  position  to 
do  most  effective  service  in  sustaining  the  load  on 
the  car. 

Flooring:  Freight  car  floors  are  generally  made 
of  yellow  or  Norway  pine,  though  occasionally 
white  oak  is  used.  Floors  are  laid  across  the  car 
from  side  to  side,  and  are  from  one  and  one-half 
to  two  and  one-half  inches  in  thickness,  according 
to  the  service  in  which  the  cars  are  used,  and  the 
boards  are  from  six  to  ten  inches  wide,  and  are 
either  tongued  and  grooved  or  lap  jointed.  The 
boards  are  all  securely  nailed  to  each  sill. 

Draft  Rigging:  One  of  the  most  important,  as 
well  as  the  most  frequently  damaged  part  of  a 
freight  car,  is  the  draft  rigging.  The  prevalent 
style  of  such  rigging  is  composed  of  draft  timbers 
of  white  oak,  from  four  to  five  inches  wide,  and 
about  eight  inches  deep,  bolted  securely  under- 
neath each  of  the  two  center  sills,  and  extending 
from  the  outside  of  the  end  sill,  or  buffer  block, 

(«)  319 


i8 

back  to  the  body  bolster,  and  in  some  cases 
through  the  body  bolster  from  one  end  of  the  car 
to  the  other.  (See  Fig.  2.)  In  the  latter  case  they 
are  often  divided  into  five  separate  lengths,  one 
from  each  end  sill  to  bolster,  one  from  each  bolster 
to  cross  tie  timber,  and  one  between  cross  tie  tim- 
bers. To  the  inside  faces  of  these  draft  timbers, 
spaced  about  eleven  inches  on  each  side  of  a  center 
line,  which  is  located  about  twenty-four  and  one- 
half  inches  back  from  outside  face  of  wooden  buffer 
block,  drawbar  stop  castings  are  located ;  these  are 
castings  about  six  inches  wide,  ten  and  one-half 
inches  long,  and  two  and  one-quarter  inches 
thick,  conveniently  cored  out  to  avoid  unneces- 
sary weight,  and  securely  bolted  to  draft  timbers 
and  tied  together  at  top  and  bottom  by  tie  pieces 
of  about  two  and  one-quarter  by  one-half  or 
three-quarters  wrought  iron,  the  whole  forming  a 
pocket  on  each  draft  timber  about  eleven  inches 
long,  six  and  one-quarter  inches  wide,  and  two 
and  one-quarter  inches  deep.  Between  the  draft 
timbers,  with  ends  resting  in  these  pockets  and 


320 


19 

supported  by  the  bottom  tie  piece,  are  two  follow- 
ers, generally  made  of  solid  wrought  iron  one  and 
one-half  inches  thick,  and  from  eight  and  three- 
quarters  to  eleven  and  three-quarters  inches  long. 
Between  these  followers  is  placed  either  a  sin- 
gle draft  spring,  or,  in  some  cases,  two  draft 
springs  side  by  side.  The  draft  springs  are  gen- 
erally two  coil  spiral  springs  about  five  and  one-half 
to  six  and  one-quarter  inches  in  diameter,  and 
eight  inches  long,  having  a  capacity  of  from  16,000 
to  19,000  pounds.  Enclosing  the  followers  and 
springs,  so  they  are  kept  in  place  and  close  to- 
gether, is  a  wrought  iron  pocket  of  necessary  size, 
made  of  about  four  inch  by  one  inch  iron,  the  front 
or  open  end  of  the  pocket  encloses  and  is  firmly 
bolted  or  riveted  to  the  rear  end  of  the  coupler 
casting  in  such  a  way  that  coupler,  pocket,  springs 
and  followers  are  in  one  compact  and  solid  group. 
(See  Fig.  4.)  It  will  be  perceived  that  when  the 
draft  springs  are  compressed,  the  followers  are 
free  to  move  in  the  direction  of  the  compression, 
the  whole  being  upheld  and  guided  by  the  bottom 
tie  piece  previously  referred  to.  The  couplers 


321 


20 


322 


21 

now  used,  in  accordance  with  United  States  stat- 
ute, are  known  as  the  Master  Car  Builders'  type. 
The  coupler  extends  from  the  outer  follower  for- 
ward to  the  outer  end  of  the  car  with  the  main  part 
or  head  extending  out  beyond  the  end  sills  and  its 
projecting  wooden  buffer  block.  The  outer  end 
of  the  coupler  is  supported  by  a  carrier  iron,  three 
or  four  inches  wide  by  about  three-quarters  of  an 
inch  thick,  which  passes  under  the  shank  of  the 
coupler,  and  is  securely  bolted  to  the  under  side 
of  the  end  sill  or  wooden  buffer  block.  It  will  be 
seen  that  the  coupler  is  secured  to  the  car  body, 
by  means  of  a  spring  cushioned  attachment,  which 
relieves  the  body  from  the  severity  of  the  vari- 
ous shocks  received  in  pulling  and  pushing  in 
service.  In  connection  with  the  draft  rigging 
many  patented  devices  are  in  the  market,  having, 
in  most  cases,  as  an  object  the  substitution  of 
malleable  iron  or  steel  for  wood,  and  the  consoli- 
dation of  as  many  separate  parts  as  possible  into 
one  piece,  and  providing  the  best  possible  resist- 
ance to  the  alternate  tension  and  compression 


323 


22 

strains  which  are  so  destructive  to  the  draft 
rigging. 

The  M.  C.  B.  type  of  coupler,  with  the  general 
shape  of  which  you  are  doubtless  all  familiar,  is 
made  with  a  thousand  and  one  different  locking 
devices  of  various  degrees  of  merit.  The  essen- 
tial features  are  a  movable  knuckle,  which,  when 
released,  allows  the  couplers  to  pull  apart,  and 
when  closed  will  lock  automatically  and  keep  the 
couplers  securely  attached.  The  contour  lines  of 
the  locking  faces  of  the  couplers  and  knuckles  are 
all  made  to  a  fixed  standard,  adopted  by  the  Mas- 
ter Car  Builders'  Association. 

Stake  Pockets:  On  the  outside  of  the  side  sills, 
and  also  on  the  outside  or  inside  of  the  end  sills, 
are  located  stake  pockets,  about  seven. to  ten  of 
them,  equally  spaced,  on  each  side  sill,  and  two  or 
four  on  each  end  sill.  These  stake  pockets  are 
either  castings  or  of  pressed  steel  of  U-shaped  sec- 
tion some  six  or  eight  inches  deep,  with  an  opening 
large  enough  to  receive  the  end  of  a  stake  having  a 
section  of  three  and  one-half  to  four  and  one-half 
by  four  to  five  inches.  Oak  or  pine  stakes  of 


324 


23 

required  height  are  driven  into  these  stake  pockets 
for  a  skeleton  side  and  end,  to  prevent  any  high 
load  of  movable  freight  from  slipping  off  when  the 
cars  are  in  service. 

The  parts  of  cars  so  far  covered  in  this  talk, 
with  the  exception  of  the  stake  pockets,  are  ap- 
plicable in  general  to  all  styles  of  freight  cars, 
and  aside  from  numerous  minor  parts,  which  lack 
of  time  prevents  mentioning  on  this  occasion, 
constitute  the  main  features  of  the  construction 
of  a  flat  car.  On  such  a  foundation,  box,  refrig- 
erator, gondola  and  stock  cars  are  built. 

GONDOLA    CARS. 

The  gondola  car  is  constructed  on  the  flat  car 
body  by  simply  erecting  sides  and  ends,  securely 
fastened  together.  The  frame  for  the  gondola 
car  sides  and  ends  consists  of  white  oak  stakes, 
fitted  and  driven  into  each  stake  pocket,  the 
stakes  being  at  the  bottom  about  five  inches  deep 
and  tapering  to  about  four  inches  at  the  top,  the 
length  varying  according  to  the  height  of  the  sides. 

325 


24 

These  are  usually  from  three  to  five  feet  high. 
To  the  inside  of  the  stakes,  planks  of  yellow  or 
Norway  pine,  from  two  and  one-half  to  three  and 
one-half  inches  thick  are  bolted,  the  planks  run- 
ning lengthwise  of  the  car ;  the  width  of  the  planks 
varying  from  ten  to  twelve  or  more  inches,  as 
convenience  may  dictate.  The  top  edges  of  these 
side  and  end  planks  are  usually  protected  by  a 
strip  of  three-eighth-inch  thick  iron,  fastened  down 
with  lag  screws. 

Such  is  the  general  construction  of  the  gondola 
car.  Many  variations  of  this  car  are  constructed, 
some  having  the  ends  made  in  form  of  a  gate 
hinged  at  the  floor,  so  they  can  swing  down  and 
rest  on  the  floor ;  others  have  the  ends  to  lift  up, 
being  guided 'and  held  in  place  by  suitable  grooves 
and  guide  plates.  In  some  cases  there  are  hinged 
doors  constructed  in  the  floors,  which  can  be 
dropped  down  for  convenient  unloading  of  coal,  ore 
or  other  similar  freight.  In  these  cases  there  is  a 
suitable  mechanism  provided  for  closing  or  winding 
up  the  doors  from  the  outside  of  the  car.  Such 
cars  are  called  drop  door  or  drop  bottom  gondolas, 

326 


25 

Another  variety  is  the  hopper  bottom  car,  which 
has  a  hopper  formed  near  the  center  of  the  car 
below  the  floor,  with  sloping  sides,  and  having  at 
the  bottom  a  door  opening  outward,  with  its  proper 
operating  mechanism.  This  style  of  car  is  desired 
in  some  cases  from  the  fact  that  a  large  portion, 
and  in  some  constructions,  all  of  the  lading  is  self 
unloading  when  the  doors  at  the  bottom  of  the 
hopper  are  opened.  Many  other  varieties  of  this 
car  are  constructed,  but  those  just  mentioned  are 
the  more  important  types. 


BOX  CARS. 

In  constructing  a  box  car  the  floor  frame  is  made 
practically  the  same  as  the  flat  car,  except  that  the 
side  sills  are,  as  a  rule,  lighter  than  in  the  flat  car, 
the  side  sills  being  usually  from  four  and  one-half 
to  five  and  one-half  inches  wide  by  from  eight  to 
nine  inches  deep.  This  decrease  in  the  depth  of 
side  sills  is  made  possible  from  the  fact  that  the 
side  framing  of  the  superstructure  of  a  box  car  is 

327 


26 

made  in  truss  form,  and  is  well  calculated  to  sus- 
tain a  major  part  of  the  lading  of  the  car. 

Side  Frame:  There  are  many  styles  of  side 
frame  trussing  for  box  cars.  Perhaps  the  most 
substantial  and  most  satisfactory  style  in  use  is 
the  combination  truss  (see  Fig.  5),  consisting  of 
a  series  of  uprights  or  posts,  with  diagonal  braces 
running  between  side  sill  and  plate,  from  the 
bottom  of  each  post  to  the  top  of  the  next  adjacent 
post  and  having  a  tie  rod  between  sill  and  plate 
at  each  post,  and  in  addition  diagonal  brace  rods, 
running  from  the  top  of  the  posts  to  the  bottom  of 
sills,  nearly  under  the  next  adjacent  posts.  These 
brace  rods,  in  connection  with  the  posts,  form  a 
truss,  capable  of  easy  adjustment,  and  permitting 
the  taking  up  of  slack,  and  where  used  cars  can 
be  kept  up  in  good  shape  and  free  from  that  very 
prevalent  sign  of  depreciation,  sagging  down  in 
the  middle. 

In  designing  the  side  frame  of  the  box  car,  the 
main  post  is  properly  located  directly  over  the 
body  bolster,  and  is  made  generally  of  white  oak 
or  yellow  pine ;  these  are  from  four  to  five  inches 

328 


CO«NC«     POST 


329 


28 

/ 

wide,  and  from  two  to  two  and  three-quarter  inches 
thick,  the  length  varying  according  to  the  height 
of  the  car.  In  the  middle  of  the  frame,  spaced 
from  five  to  six  feet  apart,  are  the  door  posts, 
forming  the  frame  for  the  door  opening ;  these  are 
generally  made  of  white  oak,  and  are  about  four 
and  one-half  by  five  or  five  and  one-half  inches  in 
section.  Between  the  door  posts  and  the  main  post 
over  the  bolster  the  space  is  divided  by  a  suitable 
number  of  oak  or  yellow  pine  side  posts  into  two, 
three,  or  four  panels,  the  number  depending  upon 
the  length  and  height  of  the  car,  and  the  judgment 
of  the  designer.  At  each  end  of  side  sill,  or  at  each 
corner  of  floor  frame,  are  located  oak  or  yellow 
pine  corner  posts,  which  are  usually  about  five  by 
five  inches  in  section.  The  space  between  corner 
posts  and  bolster  post  is  sometimes  divided  by  a 
side  post  into  two  panels,  but  generally  it  forms 
one  panel  only.  The  side  posts  are  about  five  by 
two  and  one-half  inches  in  section.  All  the  posts 
are  usually  framed  with  tenon  into  the  side  sills, 
and  at  the  top  are  framed  into  and  support  the  side 
plate  or  top  member  of  the  truss. 


330 


2Q 

Side  Plates:  The  side  plates  are  generally 
made  of  yellow  or  Norway  pine  ;  they  extend 
from  end  to  end  of  car  and  are  about  four  by  six 
and  one-half  inches  in  section.  In  each  panel  of 
the  side  frame,  in  the  best  approved  style,  oak  or 
yellow  pine  braces,  about  two  and  one-half  thick 
by  four  to  six  inches  wide,  extend  diagonally, 
commencing  at  the  bolster  post  and  extending 
upward  to  intersection  of  next  post  with  plate. 
At  the  side  of  each  door,  corner  and  side  post, 
sometimes  let  in  flush,  are  five-eighth  or  three- 
quarter-inch  tie  rods,  extending  from  top  of  plate 
to  bottom  of  side  sills,  tying  them  together.  This 
combination  of  posts,  braces,  sills,  plates  and  tie 
rods  forms  a  complete  truss  of  itself,  but  in  addi- 
tion, in  the  strongest  construction,  three-quarter 
or  seven-eighth  brace  rods  extend  diagonally 
downward  to  bottom  of  sill  from  top  of  plate  over 
each  post,  commencing  at  the  bolster  post.  The 
combination  of  these  brace  rods  with  door,  corner 
and  side  posts  and  sills  and  plates  forms  a  sepa- 
rate truss  capable  of  easily  supporting  the  car  and 


331 


30 

lading.     In  a  car  constructed  as  above  described 
there  are  three  sets  of  trussing.     (See  Fig.  5.) 

1.  Truss  rods  under  floor  frame. 

2.  Post,  brace  and  tie  rod  truss. 

3.  Post  and  diagonal  brace  rod  truss. 

The  end  frame  of  the  superstructure  of  box  cars 
usually  consists  of  the  corner  posts  before  de- 
scribed and  two  intermediate  end  posts  of  oak  or 
yellow  pine  of  three  and  one-half  by  four  inch 
section  or  larger.  These  posts  extend  from  end 
sills  to  end  plates,  into  both  of  which  they  are 
framed,  the  whole  being  tied  together  by  the  rods 
beside  each  end  post.  The  end  plates  are  gen- 
erally of  oak,  about  three  and  one-half  inches 
wide  by  twelve  inches  deep  in  center,  and  taper- 
ing to  about  six  and  one-half  inches  at  outer  ends. 
End  plates  are  framed  with  double  tenons  into 
side  plates.  In  modern  construction  it  is  fre- 
quently the  custom  to  use  malleable  or  gray  iron 
castings  for  ends  of  braces  and  side  and  end  posts 
to  set  in,  instead  of  having  wood  fitting  to  wood. 
In  the  end  framing  braces  of  oak  or  yellow  pine, 


332 


about  two  and  one-half  by  four  to  five  inches,  ex- 
tend from  junction  of  corner  posts  and  sills  up- 
ward to  junction  of  end  post  and  plate. 

Roof  Frame:  The  box  car  roof  is  usually  sup- 
ported by  the  end  plates  on  each  end,  and  yellow 
or  Norway  pine  carlines,  spaced  from  three  feet  to 
three  feet  six  inches  apart.  These  carlines  are 
about  two  inches  thick  and  about  eight  and  one- 
half  inches  deep  in  center  and  taper  to  about  two 
and  one-half  inches  at  outer  ends  where  they 
frame  into  the  side  plates.  The  taper  on  carlines 
and  end  plates  gives  the  necessary  slope  to  the  roof. 
When  the  carlines  are  in  place  the  roof  frame  is 
tied  together  by  one-half  inch  tie  rods,  let  in  flush 
in  carlines  and  end  plates  and  extending  from  out- 
side to  outside  of  side  plates,  or  by  strap  bolts 
secured  to  each  end  of  carlines  and  passing  through 
side  plates.  Each  carline  and  end  plate  is  notched 
out  at  top  about  one  and  one-half  inches  deep  and 
four  to  five  inches  wide,  to  receive  ridge  piece  of 
yellow  or  Norway  pine,  extending  from  end  to  end 
of  car.  The  ridge  pieces  are  about  one  and  three- 
quarters  by  five  inches  in  section,  properly  tapered 

333 


32 

to  shape  of  roof,  and  are  screwed  or  bolted  to 
each  carline.  To  further  support  the  roof  two  or 
four  purlines  of  yellow  or  Norway  pine,  about  one 
and  one-half  by  four  to  five  inches,  extending 
from  end  to  end  of  roof,  are  located,  spaced  equally 
between  ridge  piece  and  plate ;  these  are  let  into 
the  top  side  of  carlines  and  are  securely  screwed 
or  bolted  to  each  one. 

Roofs :  The  variety  of  car  roofs  is  so  great  that 
it  is  not  practicable,  within  the  limits  of  this  talk,  to 
describe  them.  Most  of  them  are  patented  styles 
of  construction,  and  are  devised  to  protect  the  con- 
tents of  the  car  from  the  elements,  and  at  the  same 
time  be  economical  to  repair,  long-lived  in  service 
and  cheap  in  cost.  The  plain  board  roof,  consist- 
ing of  two  courses  of  fluted  pine  boards  seven- 
eighths  by  six,  laid  so  as  to  lap  joints,  is  now 
being  almost  universally  superseded  by  patented 
roofs. 

Siding  and  Lining:  The  frames  of  box  cars  are 
covered  with  seven-eighth-inch  seasoned  pine  or 
fir  sheathing,  tongued  and  grooved,  and  having 
beading  or  V  groove  at  edges  for  finish.  This 


334 


33 

sheathing  is  made  generally  to  show  from  four  to 
six  inches  face,  and  is  securely  nailed  to  the  plate, 
sill  and  one  or  two  lines  of  side  and  end  girths. 
These  girths  are  of  white  oak,  from  about  three 
by  four  to  four  by  four  in  section,  and  extend  be- 
tween door  and  corner  posts  and  between  corner 
posts  on  ends.  They  are  notched  out  so  as  to  let 
them  down  over  posts  and  braces  and  set  flush 
with  outside  of  posts,  and  are  spaced  equidistant 
between  sills  and  plates.  These  are  used  simply 
for  a  nailing  piece  for  the  sheathing.  The  inside 
of  cars  is  wholly  or  partly  lined  with  similar 
sheathing,  but  of  poorer  quality,  laid  lengthwise 
of  car.  The  varieties  of  door  finish,  of  frieze  and 
facia,  trimmings,  etc.,  is  a  matter  of  taste  and  ex- 
perience, -which  takes  such  a  variety  of  shapes 
that  time  will  not  permit  of  its  consideration. 

STOCK  CARS. 

In  the  construction  of  a  stock  car  we  start  with 
the  floor  and  upper  frame  of  a  box  car,  but  in- 
stead of  sheathing  this  inside  and  out,  the  car  is 

(?)  335 


34 

partially  closed  up  on  the  inside  by  use  of  oak 
slats  about  five  to  six  inches  wide  and  seven- 
eighths  inch  thick,  spaced  about  two  and  one-half 
or  three  inches  apart,  from  sill  to  plate.  With 
these  cars  a  simple  roof  of  single  or  double  course 
of  boards  is  generally  used,  it  not  being  necessary 
for  them  to  be  weatherproof.  Many  varieties 
and  modifications  of  this  simple  construction, 
suiting  the  cars  to  the  special  service  in  which 
they  are  engaged,  are  matters  which  it  is  needless 
to  discuss  at  this  time. 

On  the  general  lines  that  I  have  hurriedly  de- 
scribed nearly  all  the  prevailing  kinds  of  freight 
equipment  cars  are  constructed,  in  each  case 
modifications  being  made  and  additions  provided 
to  adapt  the  general  construction  to  the  detailed 
requirements  of  many  various  lines  of  special 
service. 

In  passenger  equipment  elements  enter  into  the 
construction  which  call  for  elaborate  modifications 
on  the  simple  foundation  construction  of  a  common 
box  car.  These  features  are  so  numerous  and  so 


336 


35 

intricate  as  to  require  more  time  for  presentation 
than  I  have  at  my  disposal  at  present. 

FREIGHT  CAR  TRUCKS. 

A  freight  car  truck  consists  of  the  following  es- 
sential parts :  Wheels  and  axles,  journal  boxes 
with  their  contained  parts,  truck  frame,  truck 
bolster,  and  springs.  The  special  features  of  each 
of  these  parts  I  will  discuss  separately. 

Wheels:  The  foundation  portion  of  all  railroad 
cars  consists  of  the  wheels.  In  freight  car  con- 
struction at  present  the  wheels  are  of  cast  iron, 
generally  thirty-three  inches  in  diameter,  and 
having  a  chilled  tread  about  four  inches  wide,  and 
a  flange  about  one  and  three-eighths  inches  thick 
and  one  and  one-eighth  inches  deep.  The  wheels 
weigh  from  5  50  to  650  pounds  each,  and  have  hubs 
bored  out  from  four  and  seven-eighths  to  five  and 
three-eighths  inches  in  diameter  to  receive  the 
wheel  fit  of  the  axles.  The  wheel  fit  of  axle  is 
turned  up  just  a  trifle  larger  than  the  bore  of 
wheel  hub,  the  amount  of  difference  varying  with 

337 


36 

the  hardness  of  wheel  and  material  of  which  axles 
are  made.  The  fit  is  so  close  that  the  wheels  are 
pressed  into  position  on  the  axles  under  a  hy- 
draulic pressure  of  from  50,000  to  60,000  pounds. 

Axles :  Axles  are  made  of  steel  or  wrought  iron. 
At  the  present  time  preference  seems  to  be  given 
to  mild  open-hearth  steel,  owing  to  the  difficulty 
experienced  in  getting  the  iron  axles  to  turn  up  in 
lathe  free  from  flaws  in  the  journals.  The  axles 
on  the  present  60,000  pounds  capacity  cars  are 
seven  feet  and  one-quarter  inch  long  over  all,  and 
six  feet  three  inches  between  centers  of  journals. 

The  journals  are  four  and  one-quarter  inches  in 
diameter  and  eight  inches  long,  and  axles  are  four 
and  five-eighths  inches  in  diameter  at  centers  and 
five  and  three-eighths  inches  at  wheel  fit. 

Journal  Boxes :  The  journal  boxes  are  made  of 
common  cast  or  malleable  iron,  of  size  sufficient 
to  take  in  and  cover  the  end  of  axle  projecting 
beyond  the  wheel  hub.  The  inside  of  box  is  so 
shaped  as  to  receive  and  hold  in  proper  position 
the  journal  bearing  and  wedge.  The  outer  end 
of  box  is  closed  by  a  hinged  or  swing  cover  held 

338 


37 

down  tightly  in  its  closed  position  by  means  of  a 
spring.  The  bottom  of  the  journal  box  below  the 
axle  is  the  receptacle  for  cotton,  or  preferably, 
wool  packing,  which  is  well  saturated  with  oil, 
and  which  is  pressed  up  close  under  the  journal, 
and  thereby  feeds  to  the  journal  the  necessary 
amount  of  lubricating  oil  to  keep  it  free  from  heat- 
ing when  the  car  is  in  motion. 

Journal  Bearing  and  Wedge:  The  weight  of  car 
is  transmitted  from  the  truck  frame  to  the  top  of 
the  journal  box,  and  then  by  means  of  a  journal 
bearing  and  its  wedge,  or  key,  to  the  journal  on 
the  axle.  The  journal  bearings  are  made  from 
brass  or  bronze,  usually  in  the  proportion  of  about 
seven  parts  of  copper  to  one  part  of  tin  ;  though 
sometimes  this  mixture  is  varied  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  from  one  to  ten  per  cent,  of  lead.  The 
journal  bearings  are  concave  on  the  bottom  side 
to  fit  the  journal  and  are  usually  lined  with  one- 
eighth  inch  or  more  of  lead,  or  babbitt  metal, 
which  is  softer  than  the  brass  and  facilitates 
obtaining  quickly  a  good  bearing  surface  between 
the  journal  and  journal  bearing.  On  the  top  of 


339 


the  journal  bearings  is  placed  the  wedge,  or  key, 
usually  of  gray  or  malleable  iron  or  cast  steel. 
This  slips  over  the  top  of  the  bearing,  which  it 
loosely  fits,  and  sets  just  back  of  a  downwardly 
projecting  lip  on  top  of  the  oil  box,  so  that  when 
the  weight  of  the  car  rests  on  the  oil  box  the 
wedge  prevents  the  journal  bearing  from  getting 
displaced. 

The  proper  dimensions  and  shapes  for  journal 
box  bearing  and  wedge,  as  well  as  the  axles,  have 
been  established  by  standards  of  the  Master  Car 
Builders'  Association. 

Truck  Frames:  Truck  frames  are  of  two  gen- 
eral types,  the  arch  bar  frame  and  the  pressed  or 
rolled  steel  frame.  The  simplest  and  most  com- 
mon form  of  truck  has  the  diamond  arch  bar  frame, 
so  called  from  its  shape.  There  are  two  diamond 
side  frames,  connected  togetHer  by  a  cross  frame 
which  supports  the  truck  bolster  on  which  the 
body  bolster  and  car  body  rests.  The  diamond 
side  frames  consist  of  a  truss,  with  ends  resting 
on  top  of  oil  boxes,  which  are  spread  about  five 
feet  apart.  The  truss  has  an  upwardly  arched 

340 


39 

top,  or  compression  member,  which  for  60,000 
pound  capacity  cars  is  made  of  about  four  by  one 
and  one-quarter  inch  iron.  This  rests  at  the  ends 
on  the  bottom  arch  bar  or  tension  member,  which 
is  downwardly  arched,  and  made  of  about  four  by 
one  inch  iron.  The  maximum  distance  between 
top  and  bottom  members  is  generally  about  six- 
teen inches,  and  they  are  held  apart  by  either  a 
center  casting,  or  in  the  simpler  form  of  truck,  by 
two  column  castings  of  gray  or  malleable  iron, 
spaced  from  thirteen  to  fourteen  inches  apart,  and 
forming  a  guide  for  the  vertical  motion  of  the 
truck  bolster,  which  extends  across  from  one  side 
frame  to  the  other,  and  projects  through  beyond 
the  frames  several  inches.  The  column  castings 
or  bolster  guides  are  made  hollow  for  taking  the 
column  bolts,  which  pass  through  from  the  top  to 
the  bottom  arch  bars,  and  also  include  the  bottom 
tie  bar,  firmly  securing  the  truss  frame  together 
near  the  center.  The  bottom  tie  bar  is  a  bar  of 
about  four  by  five-eighths  inch  iron,  extending 
between  journal  boxes  underneath,  and  held  in 
place  by  the  column  bolts  and  the  bolts  which 


40 

hold  ends  of  diamond  frames  to  oil  boxes.  In  the 
simpler  form  of  diamond  trucks  the  cross  frame 
consists  of  an  oak  spring  plank  about  twelve  or 
fourteen  inches  wide  and  about  four  inches  thick, 
extending  across  from  side  frame  to  side  frame, 
and  extending  a  little  beyond  the  frames. 

This  timber  is  secured  by  being  bolted  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  column  castings.  In  the  most  approved 
form  of  trucks  a  steel  channel  about  twelve 
inches  deep,  with  flanges  about  three  inches  deep, 
is  substituted  for  the  wood  spring  plank.  In  some 
styles  of  diamond  trucks,  instead  of  the  arch  bars 
having  column  castings  between  them,  there  are 
two  channel  irons  about  twelve  inches  apart  used, 
connecting  the  two  side  frames  to  which  they  are 
well  bolted  or  riveted ;  these  form  the  cross 
frame.  These  cross  channels  are  called  transoms, 
and  from  them  depend  fixed  or  swinging  supports 
for  the  springs  upon  which  the  truck  bolsters  rest. 
These  transoms  were  formerly  made  of  oak  tim- 
bers. Where  swinging  hangers  are  used,  these 
hangers  are  attached  to  and  support  the  spring 
plank,  which  in  such  cases  is  a  little  shorter  than 

342 


the  distance  between  the  side  frames.  Trucks 
having  transoms  and  a. spring  plank  supported  by 
swinging  hangers  at  each  end  are  called  swing 
motion  trucks,  and  are  strongly  advocated  by 
some  car-builders.  The  general  practice  is  to  use 
trucks  having  fixed  spring  planks,  which  are 
known  as  rigid  trucks.  These  are  simpler  in 
construction,  cheaper  in  first  cost  and  in  cost  of 
maintenance.  As  far  as  possible  the  springs  are 
located  near  the  ends  of  the  spring  planks -and 
over  the  center  of  the  side  frames  of  the  trucks. 

Springs:  The  springs  are  sometimes  of  elliptic 
form,  but  usually  consist  of  groups  of  helical 
springs,  held  together  in  a  suitable  case  by  means 
of  light  bolts.  The  springs  are  generally  made  of 
open-hearth  steel,  and  are  of  a  capacity  which 
will  allow  them  to  compress  from  about  one-half 
to  three-quarters  of  an  inch  under  the  load  of  the 
car  body,  and  from  about  one  to  one  and  one-half 
inches  under  the  weight  of  car  and  load. 

Truck  Bolsters:  Resting  on  the  springs  and  ex- 
tending across  the  truck,  passing  through  the  side 
frames  and  guided  by  the  column  castings,  is  the 

343 


'    42 

truck  bolster.  This  in  its  simplest  form  consists  of 
a  piece  of  white  oak  about  ^nine  by  thirteen  inches 
and  seven  feet  six  inches  long,  trussed  by  two 
one-inch  iron  rods  resting  under  wood  or  iron 
center  bearings  below  center  of  timber,  and  hav- 
ing nuts  on  the  ends,  bearing  against  suitable  iron 
washers  or  end  castings.  Proper  castings  near 
each  end  act  as  a  guide  to  the  bolster  as  it  moves 
up  or  down  between  the  column  castings,  and  pre- 
vent its  having  any  excessive  end  motion.  On 
the  top  of  the  bolsters  at  the  center  is  located  the 
truck  center  plate,  which  properly  engages  with 
the  body  center  plate,  thereby  providing  means 
for  the  truck  to  freely  swivel  when  in  motion. 
Also,  properly  spaced  on  each  side  of  the  center 
plate  are  truck  side  bearings,  so  located  as  to 
receive  the  weight  transmitted  by  the  body  side 
bearings.  In  the  latest  designs  of  trucks  special 
bolsters,  either  made  up  of  rolled  or  pressed  steel 
shapes  or  of  cast  steel,  are  used,  these  being  more 
durable  and  being  considered  more  economical  in 
the  long  run.  As  these  are  nearly  all  special 


344 


43 

patented  devices,  it  is  not  best  to  describe  them 
at  this  time. 

Pressed  Steel  Truck  Frames:  A  prominent  com- 
petitor for  consideration  as  a  substitute  for  the 
diamond  frame  arch  bar  truck  is  the  pressed  or 
rolled  steel  type.  The  side  frames  and  cross 
frames  of  these  trucks  are  made  up  of  either 
rolled  or  pressed  steel  members,  very  securely 
riveted  together,  so  that  both  side  frames  and  the 
cross  frames  are  practically  one  rigid  piece,  free 
from  bolts.  As  there  are  many  varieties  of  this 
type  of  frame  and  they  are  all  covered  by  patents, 
I  will  not  attempt  to  describe  them. 


PASSENGER   CAR   TRUCKS. 

Passenger  car  trucks  are  a  much  more  compli- 
cated structure,  having,  in  addition  to  the  elemen- 
tary features  pertaining  to  freight  trucks,  many 
added  features  calculated  especially  to  give  ease 
in  riding.  The  details  are  too  extensive  to  war- 
rant discussion  at  this  time. 


345 


44 

Many  details  of  car  construction  in  the  way  of 
air  brakes,  safety  attachments,  brake  beams,  un- 
coupling rigging,  etc.,  can  not  be  touched  upon  at 
this  time,  but  the  student  who  desires  to  become 
more  familiar  with  them  can  best  do  so  by  a  study 
of  the  numerous  articles  which  are  appearing  from 
time  to  time  in  the  various  railroad  technical 
journals,  and  in  the  reports  of  the  Master  Car 
Builders'  Association,  as  well  as  those  of  the 
various  Railway  Clubs. 

There  is  at  the  present  time  a  rapidly  growing 
tendency  to  greatly  increased  capacity  of  cars 
and  the  construction  of  all  the  parts  possible  of 
steel,  either  in  rolled  or  pressed  shapes.  As  de- 
signers are  considerably  at  variance  at  present  as 
to  what  style  of  design  is  best  from  all  stand- 
points, it  may  not  be  wise  to  attempt  to  describe 
any  of  the  all-steel  cars,  but  it  may  be  a  matter 
of  interest  to  examine  a  photograph  which  I  have 
brought  of  one  of  the  latest  all-steel  coal  cars  just 
built  by  the  Schoen  Pressed  Steel  Co.,  of  Pitts- 
burgh. By  the  courtesy  of  the  Pullman  Palace 
Car  Co.,  the  Michigan-Peninsular  Car  Co.,  the 

346 


45 

Barney  &  Smith  Car  Co.  and  the  Wells  &  French 
Co.,  I  am  able  to  present  for  your  examination 
photographs  of  a  large  number  of  types  of  car 
construction,  showing  in  some  cases  the  detail  of 
construction. 


347 


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UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA 

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LIBRARY 

This  is  the  date  on  which  this 
book  was  charged  out. 


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